The City Just Before The Gates of Hell
by Sailor-Sutty
Summary: Set during The Dark Knight Rises. A rookie cop and unpaid lawyer start a new life in a city that's on the brink of falling apart. Can they survive the trials of a city that's being torn apart from the top down? Will they stick together or will Bane break them entirely shattering the world they built together while making one for himself? Or does Jen have other plans? Bane/OC/Blake
1. Chapter 1

"Look Jen we're not gonna be here forever" smiled John as we dropped our bags into our new dingy apartment. Smoke billowed by the window and the wallpaper crumbled off the wall.

"John look I understand we're not gonna be able to afford a decent place for a while" I said hugging him "you're just a rookie cop in the force and I'm an unpaid intern. Don't worry though…" I smiled as the dripping noise increased in the corner of the room "we'll make it"

Standing in the doorway of our new apartment I realised living away from home would be more difficult than I thought. Don't get me wrong, I was turning 22 this year and leaving home had been on my mind for a while but financially it wasn't an option. I had a law degree under my belt but trying to find work in this economy and with every college churning out more and more law graduates every day was proving very hard. So I took an unpaid internship at Harvey Dents firm to pay my dues before I started actually earning money. While I had wanted to move it, it hadn't been an option that was until John suggested we live together. John Blake was an orphan, his mother died in a car crash and his father shot due to a gambling debt. John wasn't lucky enough to find a stable home where he could thrive in education. He was bounced between foster homes until he was 16 then chucked out on the streets to fend for himself. I met him when he was working as a bartender in the bar beside my college. I went in with my college class after summer exams and he was mixing the cocktails for us all night and I spent most of the night talking to him instead of my class. As you can imagine when I told my mother I was dating a bartender who had never went to college, she was less than thrilled. But she compromised that once I stuck with college and didn't get distracted I was allowed to see him. Once I finished college, I had no idea whether or not to keep the relationship going. After all we were now two totally different people so we took a break to figure out what we wanted from life. I went to Australia for a year and travelled around and when I got back I realised John was all I ever wanted. Lucky for me, he had realised over that year apart that he wanted the same and I hadn't lost him to another girl. He also hit me with another bombshell. He didn't want his whole legacy to be orphan and bartender. He wanted to do something meaningful with his life and after the trail of destruction left by the Joker, the Gotham police were taking on new applicants. I was proud of him but also worried because being a police officer in Gotham is not a job to take lightly but if that's what he wanted to do I wasn't about to stand in his way. The day he got accepted was one of the happiest days of his life, he finally felt like all the pieces of his life were falling into place. After about 6 months in the job John really started to settle in, he was getting well paid at least compared to his bartending job. Once I graduated I realised the law business was slowing down even considering the rampant crime in this city. So I came to the conclusion that an unpaid internship was the best course for me just for the experience really. But I couldn't live on that so I managed to get a part time job 3 days a week as a waitress. The money wasn't great but it meant I could throw some money my mother's way for bills. Once John started to get some money together he started looking at bigger apartments and he decided that if I put the money I was giving my mother towards rent and stuff with him, we could afford a place of our own and I wouldn't be living off my parents anymore. I had never lived with anyone before but as soon as John said I knew it was the right thing to do. So a rookie cop and an unpaid lawyer moved in together. Money was tight but we got by.

I put the sheets on our new bed as John unpacked what little clothes he owned into the dresser.

"You know this place could definitely use a lick of paint or some new wallpaper" I said looking around.

"Yea you're right. Tell you what I don't have to work this weekend so we can go and pick out some paint" he smiled.

I finished fixing the sheets and fluffed the pillows while he placed his uniform in a separate drawer. He walked around and hugged me from behind.

"You know, this place may not be the mansion you deserve to live in but this is the first time in my life I actually feel like I'm home"

"Really?"

"Yea, I mean my life has never really been easy and all I've ever wanted was an easy life with no fighting, arguing just a quiet peaceful life where I go to work during the day and get to come home to someone in the evening who is happy to see me, that's all I really want" he grinned.

"Babe that's so sweet"

"I just think things in my life are finally becoming stable" he said as I finished the bed.

"Hey you wanna get Chinese for dinner?"

"Is there…" I started before he cut me off.

"Yes we have the money for it, besides we're celebrating this is our first night in our new place we might as well splash out a bit"

As we sat on the floor beside the small radiator that the landlord left for us, all our possessions still boxed around us, eating and laughing, we realised our new life was off to a good start.

But as we were going to find out, the only part of our life that was going to be good was the start. From there on it would slowly decline but at that point in time we were happily ignorant eating cheap Chinese food huddling against a small radiator to keep warm before we snuggled down under our duvet for the night while the cold Gotham wind whistled through the cracks in the window frame.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Just to let you know 'We've got unfinished business kiddo' is still in progress so don't worry another update will be there soon :) Now about this one, I know nothing really exciting has happened yet but I kinda want to build up the whole story before I jump into anything so for anyone who doesn't like that I am sorry but that's just how I write. I hope you enjoy and thanks for everyone for reviewing and adding to their fave's. I do love you all for that :D Updates will be coming soon :)**

At stupid o' clock that morning, I heard John's phone ringing. I groaned and elbowed him in the back.

"John, your stupid phone is ringing!" I croaked.

He lifted himself up and mumbled some inaudible words before getting up and bumbling around disorientated before he finally managed to find and answer his phone.

"Hello?"

Realising he wasn't fully awake so consequently neither was his sense of common decency to go into the kitchen instead of talking where I was sleeping, I sat up in the bed rubbing my tired eyes. There was no point lying there trying to sleep while he was still talking.

"What? Slow down what's going on?" I heard him shake his wrist obviously trying to get his watch the right way around.

"Are you serious? Ok, ok, ok…I'm getting ready now and I'll be there in about twenty minutes"

I glanced at my phone of course being blinded for a couple of seconds before actually registering the time.

"Babe, its 4a.m"

"I know, I gotta go, a body's been washed up from the sewers"

"Ok I don't need the details" I said lying back down and throwing a pillow over my face.

He pulled on a vest and came over to the bedside table yanking his charger out of his phone. I pulled the pillow off my face and grabbed his vest pulling him down eye level with me.

"John, be careful" I said before kissing him

"Uh huh" he muttered.

After he bundled around getting dressed and getting everything together he eventually left me to my last few hours of sleep before I started another mammoth day at work.

As soon as I got up, I texted him to make sure he was ok and I got a call before I left.

"Hey John you ok?"

"Yea I'm fine, it was lucky I didn't eat anything this morning, it was bad babe. But the good news is I should be home early today, any chance you can get home early?"

"Em...might be able to if I work through lunch. Who was the guy?"

"Just a kid from the orphanage, I used to know him"

I could hear pain in his voice.

"Sweetie I'm sorry to hear that, what happened to him?"

"Ah once they reach a certain age, they're tossed out on the street, I was too and then you'll do whatever you can to make money. Probably got in with the wrong crowd…who knows"

"Well as long as you're safe"

"I am, don't worry. What are you up to now?"

"Just heading to work"

"Ah very good, right well I'll talk to you this evening. Love you babe"

"Love you too"

I couldn't even comprehend what was going through John's mind right now, seeing someone he knew just tossed into the sewer like he was nothing but worthless trash. Sometimes this city can be so cruel. Although having said that, there was a time when things were ten times worse. Back before Harvey Dent and all his amazing work, the city was a festering underneath organised crime, drugs, prostitution and everything else. But he made a stand against everything that was wrong with this city and even though his death was unfortunate at the hand of a masked vigilante it certainly inspired people to take a stand and the major made it his duty to clean up the streets. Since the enforcement of the Dent Act, everything changed so his untimely death wasn't in vain. One of the first conversations I ever had with John was about the Batman. But unlike everyone else he saw something different about him. He thought he was a good person who saved the city and asked nothing in return. I never understood that but he was adamant about it. Whenever a news report would come up like The Batman, will he ever return? He would turn it off and pretend he didn't even see it. I never understood why he had felt that way about Batman, I had always put it down to a boyhood superhero fantasy that he didn't want to let go of but I never found out for sure.

I hopped on the train after a ridiculously long day at work and slumped into the window seat. Today just never seemed to end, I went into work and all the files were from Blackgate prison which was odd because normally I just get one or two a week on them, not all at once. But after I eventually got through them, it was 3 o' clock and it was too late to take my lunch break so I just decided to get a cup of coffee and work until 6. When I was leaving I was cornered by a senior counsel who questioned where I was going and why I was leaving work early. Typical senior counsel thinks they can tell everyone what to do especially an unpaid intern. I told him I was going home that I'd been here since 6.30 without a lunch break and I needed to go home. He simply snorted in derision and pushed past me. The day when I get some sort of respect in this firm cannot come sooner. As I sat on the train scrawling through my Facebook on my phone I noticed there wasn't a lot of people on this carriage for rush hour. I put it down to being a Friday so everyone, except me, probably finished early. When I eventually got home, I noticed the apartment was in darkness. Didn't John say he would be home early? I turned on the light and looked around for any sign of life; he wasn't in bed or the bathroom. Then I saw the answering machine light blinking behind a box. I should really unpack all these boxes. I looked through the mail while the automated teller machine talked.

"Hey babe, listen I'm gonna be home about 8 I'd say, we found something…I have no idea what it is yet, something in the sewers but I have about 500 pages of tunnel records…look I'll explain more when I get home, that is even if I understand it actually. Anyway talk to you later babe"

I threw some pasta into the microwave but as soon as I lay down on the couch I fell straight asleep. I was awoken by John's cold lips lightly brushing my forehead.

"You're home" I smiled.

"Sorry didn't mean to wake you" he whispered taking off his scarf and gloves.

"How was work?"

"Ugh, I'm just so tired"

"I know the feeling" I said yawning.

"What's up in the sewers?" I said getting up and re heating the pasta.

"I don't know, they think there's some underground gang working from under there" he said throwing rolls of paper onto the table, probably the tunnel plans he was talking about.

"You hungry?"

"Not really, we ordered some pizza at the station"

"Gotham's finest at work" I jeered.

"I know, doing what I do best babe" he laughed hugging me.

"How was your day?"

"Ah it was ok, just a lot of files, Blackgate files mostly. And then I was getting shit off this senior counsel when I was going home"

"What happened?"

"He was just giving me jip about leaving at half 6 even though I'd been there for like 12 hours and he only arrived at work at 10! It's just because he's senior counsel and thinks he rules the world"

"Awh babe, don't worry, soon you'll be running that place" he smiled.

I hugged him tight, standing in our tiny apartment with his arms wrapped around me I felt like millionaire.

"I also paid a visit to Bruce Wayne" he said as I scooped up my pasta.

"Really why, I thought he was a total recluse now?"

"He is but I had some questions about Harvey Dent"

"What about him?"

"I don't think Batman had anything to do with Harvey Dents murder"

"But why would Bruce Wayne care about that?"

"Well…he is kinda Batman"

"What?"

"The Batman…"

"How do you know?"

"I just know" he said rubbing his temples "and I told him he needs to come back because judging by these tunnel plans…what we're gonna be fighting is big"

"Are you sure about this?" I said still kind of sceptical; maybe he just really wanted to believe Batman was coming back.

"Yes, I met Bruce Wayne when I was a kid, he was like a celebrity, a successful orphan with a flash car and two babes on his arm but I knew that look…he was pretending that this was all he ever wanted. It was the same look I had perfected. That look where nothing is bothering you, you've accepted your life the way it is"

"I'm sure Bruce Wayne loves the money and the women"

"Probably but I know he stands for something else"

"Ok, I believe you" I said resting my hand on top of his. A small smile crept onto his face. "So what did he have to say for himself?"

"Nothing really, I wasn't expecting a lot, it's what he does now, after our meeting, is what's important"

"Do you think you really need the Batman to beat whatever it is in the sewer?"

"I think so"

I could tell there was something he wasn't telling me but I didn't want to push it. It was his work and while I took an interest in it, it was his after all and if he had something to tell me I knew he would eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

John spent the next three days drinking coffee and staring at sewer plans that were sprawled across our small kitchen table. The monotonous dripping from the corner of the room into the pan didn't seem to bother him. I walked into the kitchen one morning and found him asleep at the table, drooling slightly on the plans.

"Babe" I whispered lightly shaking him awake.

He awoke and rubbed his neck which was obviously sore judging by the way he was sleeping.

"What time is it?" he mumbled rubbing his eyes.

"6am" I said pouring him and myself coffee. "Have you found anything?" I said referring to the plans.

"No…I don't understand why I have to do this. I'm not experienced looking at maps finding patterns"

"Look why don't you go to bed and take a look at it later with fresh eyes?"

"No I'm gonna go down the station and see what the lads have to say down there, see if they have any fresh leads"

I glanced at the clock on the microwave that flashed 6.09.

"I have to go I'm going to be late" I said kissing his forehead and running out the door.

I got to the office and it was still dark out. There's something very wrong with being in work before the sun has even woken up. I turned on the lights and pulled out my chair. I swear the day I get a promotion can't come soon enough. Just as I sat in my uncomfortable chair and pulled out some paperwork I heard a noise coming from the filing office. I spun around and waited for another sound. Another small sound came from the locked room. I looked around to see if there was anyone else's desk mussed up. Maybe another person was here…I went to the room and saw the door was unlocked. The main man in the firm's keys was in the door. Why would he be here this early? He's never here this early. I opened the door slightly and peered in through the slit. I was met with the back of a huge beast of a man. He stood up straight and turned slowly around looking straight at me through the slit.

"This is unexpected" he spoke in a robotic voice. He had a metal mouthpiece that wrapped itself around his head and he was as big as a tank. His voice came through but there was no facial expression whatsoever except for his eyes. His eyes spoke for him. He pushed the door back against me with his huge hand and bounded out towards me as I crawled away.

"What are you doing here?"

I didn't say anything just backed into my desk hoping he would just take what he needed and leave.

"Please take what you need and leave. I won't report you" I lied.

He laughed slightly which was even creepier that listening to him talk.

"There's no money here…"

"You think I'm here for money? I'm not a parasite…like you"

He turned away and took one step forward and I immediately felt relieved thinking he was leaving. But then it was like something in his mind switched. He had an arm full of files and then decided I was going with him. He stepped back and dragged me up by my hair and tucked me under his arm, his hand covering my muffled screams. He casually walked down the sets of stairs outside onto a, still dark, deserted street. A van sped up as soon as we stepped onto the street and I was bundled into the back and a cloth held up to my mouth. Panicking I inhaled deeply and felt myself getting instantly drowsy and eventually falling into unconsciousness.

I couldn't tell you how long I was out. I woke up, the smell of stagnant water and sewage burning the inside of my nostrils. I blinked and felt something inside my head explode. I opened one eye and saw a bright light over me. I was lying on a very thin mattress with my head resting on a small pillow and had a light sheet over me. I pushed it off me and rubbed my eyes.

"You're awake" I heard in that same robotic voice from earlier. I looked over and saw the huge man hunched on his hunkers with his back to me. He didn't wear a top, just his muscles budging from his skin. He had two sets of shoulders, his neck muscles sitting on top of his shoulders. He had a long scar running down his spine leading up to his neck. He wore gloves up to his forearms and army style trousers with his six pack budging out over them.

"What am I doing here? Who are you?"

"You're a lawyer yes?"

"Yea…" I said as I watched him rise and turn to face me.

"So you can make sense of these legal documents?" he said throwing a file to the side.

"Yea I suppose I could" my head was still exploding.

"Hmm…I will need you" he said walking over to me.

I buried my head in my hands and felt my side of the bed rising as he sat on the other side.

"I can't help you I'm sorry"

I looked around and it was a whole room under what looked like a sewer. The water system ran through various tunnels to the left of this makeshift bed. A small group of rats ran past his feet and I felt like I was going to get sick. He just looked at them running over his boots then looked at me.

"You don't like rats?" he asked.

Was he seriously asking me this? His eyes made me feel very uncomfortable. They stare and don't let up. The material holding his mask to his mouth passed through between his eyes and when his eyebrows tried to knit together they got caught on the mask. His eyes glanced between each of my eyes and it felt like he was reading every thought that entered into my mind. I pushed my brown hair behind my ear and looked at the floor too scared to meet his eyes again. He ran his finger along my hair that was sitting on the shoulder of my suit jacket.

"You remind me of someone…" he whispered through his mask. It was so faint I almost missed it. His brow relaxed as he spoke but tensed up almost immediately.

"Seriously I'm going to be of no use to you, there are people, more experienced people that can help you more" I'm such a weasel I was willing to throw someone else under the bus to save my own skin.

"No…you'll do"

I felt like balling my eyes out but that wouldn't help anyone.

Suddenly two guys came from one of the long tunnels and approached cautiously.

"Boss?"

He looked up and waved his hand as if for them to proceed.

"We have Selina Kyle" one mumbled.

"Very good, did you tell her what we discussed?"

"Yes she's in and working on it now"

"Very good"

One of them shifted their gaze towards me for a few seconds.

"Do you want us to do anything with her?"

He looked back at me and looked at them.

"No why would I want you to do anything with her?"

"I was just thinking…"

He got up and strode up to him before grabbing his throat to which he collapsed after a few minutes of struggling to breathe before eventually going limp. The other guy scuttled off as soon as Bane let go of the other guy. He stared at the corpse of the man he just killed and then kicked him into the water system.

"Blackgate, little one…" he said looking back at me.

I wasn't entirely sure what he expected me to say about Blackgate to be honest.

"Eh, unlike Arkham not for the criminally insane opened in…"

"What is your experience with Blackgate child?"

"Not a lot…I've gone on a few prison visits there…"

"Very good" he said as cheerful as well he could be.

He reached for a set of keys that hung on a big hook on a pillar.

"Now little one…we must have a place for you"

"Look honestly I'm really of no use"

"Petti if you say that again I'll make sure you are of no use to anyone ever again" he said picking me up by the arm and bringing me over to a darker corner of the room. He opened up the rusty door and I was escorted inside. There was a small mattress and a blanket, a toilet and a sink. The bed didn't look as comfortable as the one I woke up and that wasn't saying a lot.

He closed the door with a bang. "You're not gonna just leave me here are you?" I said very aware of the fact I was going to be left there on my own.

"Don't worry child, I just need to keep you from running off"

He began to walk away and I actually felt myself break down completely. The idea of being left on my own in a cell just made me feel sick with worry.

"Please! Don't leave me here alone!" I cried my face pressed up against the bars. I always hated being on my own even when I was a child.

He turned back around and looked me directly in the eye. "You're not alone…I'm here, Bane is here" he said before walking back to the desk at the other side of the room. I cried silently to myself thinking of John. I wasn't even sure how long I was gone, a few hours? Days? Did they have John? Was this the creature that John was talking about in the sewers? I would give anything to be back in my office being picked on by the senior partners. Why did he need me? Surely a lawyer would be of absolutely no use to these people. Hopefully John was working on finding out what's going on in the sewers and hopefully this Bane character would hold off on killing me for a few hours at least.

I am so sorry this has taken so long, stupid college work getting in the way but I thank you for being so patient and I promise the wait wont be this long again. Love you all :)

-Sailor


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I hope you're all grand and life is going ok, whether in work or college or whatever you get up to :) So this chapter is a bit on the short side but I figured tacking more onto the end of this scene wasn't necessary so I hope you enjoy and I will be updating more soon :) New chapter is up for my Warrior fic as well 'Hit me like a Man' so you can check that out if you wish. Anyway that's all for now, thanks again guys, love you all!**

**-Sailor :)**

I leaned my face against the cold rock and closed my eyes listening to the water gush past. When I occasionally opened my eyes I saw the body of the beast sitting in a chair leaning back and creaking every so often. I have no idea what he was looking at, his body didn't move at all. He could have been asleep for all I knew. I sat leaning against the wall for about an hour and the only noise to be heard was the drip and gush of the water. I moved slightly to stop the dull ache that was beginning to develop in my neck. As soon as I shifted my weight the chair turned around and Bane looked directly at me.

"No movement Niñita" he said with a wave of his hand.

I changed my position slightly as he stared through the bars at me.

"Do you have family?" he suddenly spoke.

"No" I lied.

He swung back around on his chair and I was met with his back again. I took note of the huge scar running from his neck all down his spine…looked really sore.

"When you said I reminded you of someone…"

But I wasn't given a response. He didn't even acknowledge my comment. It was like I wasn't even there.

"Who is it?"

But that fell on deaf ears as well.

I eventually decided to lie on the bed and try to get some sleep. It was hard to tell if one day had passed or just a few hours. I took off my suit jacket and used it as a cover. A draught whistled through the cracks in the stone wall and I tried to cover as much as my body as possible with my jacket. Unfortunately it was a day where I decided to wear my suit skirt instead of trousers. I could feel the heat of my body sinking into the cold ground leaving me shaking huddling my knees up to my chest trying to keep any shred of warmth inside me. I could feel all the blood rushing back to my heart and my insides shaking. I eventually fell asleep but the numbness was reaching up through my legs and into my hips which kept me semi awake. I opened one eye feeling someone's presence at the door. Bane was standing at the door peering through the bars at me, his brow relaxed like earlier, his fingers entangled between the bars. I wasn't sure if he could see my eye open through the darkness but he was there for a few minutes so I'm sure he didn't know I could see him. He shook his head slightly from side to side and then walked away before returning a few minutes later. The creaking of the door woke me up fully and he stepped in. I felt slightly intimidated with him standing over me. I kind of pulled myself up and leaned on my hand but he knelt down, his hand on my shoulder pushing me lightly back down. He had a huge blanket over his other arm, he folded it over and it still well covered me.

"Sleep little one, it's been a long day" he said throwing it over me tucking it down at each side of me. I shut my eyes and felt my whole body relax with the new much appreciated source of heat. My breathing slowed down along with my heart rate until my whole body was at a comfortable level enough for me to sleep. I could hear his breathing through his mask and knew he was still staring at me but I didn't feel the need to look at him. After a few more minutes I heard the cell door close and the keys rattle in the lock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello guys! How's life treating you guys out there? Hope things are well. Here's my new chapter. I also added another chapter to my Warrior story if any of you guys are reading that. Btw for those of you guys who love Tom Hardy but haven't seen Warrior, deffo watch it you won't be disappointed. He's amazing in every sense of the word like he always is ;) That's all for now I'll have an update soon enough. Thanks again for everyone who reads, follows and reviews. Love you all! :D **

**-Sailor**

Gun shots woke me up. I couldn't tell you if it was the next day or an hour later. There was absolutely no way of knowing in this place. There was no clock or anything. I shot up and looked out the bars, the sinking feeling returning remembering I was still here at the hands of this madman. Bane was standing there holding a gun with smoke billowing from the barrel and a man lying on the ground still twitching as his life slowly slipped away.

"Ah yes I was wondering when you would wake up" he said looking over at me as soon as I sat up. He stepped over the man like he was a worthless piece of rubbish and strode over, his amazing hit-me-hard-in-the-chest-like-a-bullet eyes boring into mine.

"Search him then I will kill you" he said in a sinister tone, looking over his shoulder at another man. I noticed he spoke in a different tone to the way he addressed me.

"Did you sleep well child?" he spoke softly.

"Yea thanks for the blanket" it felt weird thanking him for keeping me in this cage.

He looked down at me for what felt like forever. Why did he have to keep staring? It wasn't like I could go anywhere. But a cough from behind him broke his concentration. I only noticed now the one he said he was going to kill had done a legger. Another one of his crew stood awkwardly at the door. He waved his hand for him to proceed and he cleared his throat, I could tell this wasn't going to be good.

"Boss, there's a detective, we have word he's on the trail of the whole…police thing" clearly not wanting to say anything in front of me but it didn't make a difference I had no idea what he was talking about anyway.

"Name?"

"We're not sure, we think we heard some people call him Blake…been asking questions and such…"

My stomach nearly exploded but I tried not to show any sort of bother at John's name being mentioned. My leg twitched slightly which Bane picked up on straight away. His head slowly turned to look at me and I just sat there pretending it was just an involuntary twitch.

"That'll be all for now, go" he said waving his hand at him.

"But…"

"GO!" he growled. That even sent a shiver down my spine.

"Do you need anything Petti?"

"Well you haven't got any food have you?" I felt kind of stupid asking for food but I was starving. He walked over to his bed and gasping in the glow of green fluid with two taps, he pulled out a small drawer. He walked back over and threw me a granola bar.

"What's the green fluid?"

"Venom"

That really just raised more questions than it answered. I chewed on the granola bar and it was gone within an instant. I like my food and I don't consider a shitty health food bar breakfast. As I sat chewing I thought about work and I felt like crying. I wonder what happened when I didn't show up at the office; most likely the senior counsel guys used it to get a dig in about my job performance to the main man.

"Now I need you to do something for me today Niñita…" he pointed to the desk he was sitting at the night before. At least I think it was the night before.

"There are files over on that desk that I need you to go through and sort. You're a lawyer..."

"Well…I'm just an intern that's what I tried to tell you earlier…"

"You're a highly educated individual otherwise you wouldn't be working in Harvey Dent's firm so don't try to put yourself down again by saying you're just an intern. I'm not interested in hearing that. Have you any experience in court my child?"

"Eh…not really" I lied. I was champion of moot courts inside and outside college. I do one nearly every week to keep my skills sharp. Sometimes if a lawyer from the firm can't make court they brief me and I'd stand up in court in their place. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do law from an early age. The idea of standing up in court and having everyone's attention bossing people around…what can I say I'm a control freak. But what didn't make sense was why he was so interested in the ins and outs of the legal universe?

He kept eye contact with me but I knew I was a good liar; I was a lawyer after all.

"No movement from the desk little one"

"Ok…"

He unhooked the keys from his belt and proceeded to unlock the cell door. He stepped in and offered his hand to help me up. I placed my hand in his giant paw and he clasped it gently as he helped me stand up. He looked away when I met his stare.

He walked me over to the desk and pulled the chair out for me. I sat down and he placed a big pile of paperwork in front of me. I suddenly felt like I was back at work.

He put his hand on my shoulder which caused me to glance at his hand then up to his eyes.

"Just go through as many as you can" that's certainly not something I was used to hearing at work.

"What am I looking for?"

"These are the files of those who are guilty of financial and white collar crime, politicians, judges, lawyers all of which paid their way out of jail time and people in high society who committed crimes that the ordinary man would be hung for…plenty of which went unpunished"

"Ok…but what's the…"

He knelt down and was eye level with me. "I am going to rid the world of parasites that feed off the misfortune of others, rip them from their decadent nests and cast them out into the cold world that we know" he obviously didn't mean to include me in that. I would have been a parasite I would have thought. "Courts of my own making will be convened and they will stand trial, sentenced to what they deserve…that's where you come in"

"What?"

"You will act on behalf of my state" he said his eyes not moving or blinking.

"But you can't…there's no due process"

"Precious this is not about due process. There was no due process when they were first put through the judicial system, they merely put a brown envelope under the table and that was that, unlike the ordinary men"

I suppose he had a point. The money in society never had to worry about their dirty secrets coming out in public; corruption was still rife and went right to the top. Everyone was up to their necks in it. But I shouldn't shout too loud, my father was part of that society, so therefore I was. Actually he was one of the founders of high society in Gotham, the crème de le crème if you will. Well obviously Bane didn't think so. It was only now I noticed he had placed his hand on my knee while he was explaining.

"But…"

But before I could protest further, I suddenly saw his eyes close in pain. He stumbled slightly back and gripped his mask. He ran over to the taps that were hanging over his bed and attached a very thin pipe into the side of the mouthpiece on his mask and twisted the tap. The green fluid drained from the window and obviously went straight into the mechanism in the mask. His face relaxed as the pain subsided. His sudden outburst did scare me slightly.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes" he sighed heavily. After a few minutes he removed the pipe and came back over kneeling beside me his head bent over, inhaling deeply.

"Are you sure you're ok?" I said resting my hand on his huge shoulder.

He tightened the many tubes leading into the mouthpiece and looked back up at me.

"Yes I'm fine…just the pain, the venom keeps it at bay"

I moved my hand onto his cheek and ran my thumb over his cheekbone but then I realised what I was doing and retracted my hand straight away.

"So when are the courts being convened?"

"Soon Niñita, for now you just worry about the paperwork" he said standing up straight again, clearly regaining his energy.

He gathered a few things and I noticed him putting on his black motorcycle jacket.

"You're not leaving me here are you?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back I just have some monetary business to attend to…why don't you like being left alone little one?"

"I just don't like it, ever since I was a child" I shrugged. There was a reason but I wasn't about to tell him.

He grabbed a motorbike helmet from under the bed and walked through a big iron gate, turned and locked it.

"Remember no movement child" he said waving his hand through the bars.

"No movement" I repeated as he gave me one last knock out look and turned to walk away. I shifted around in the chair trying to get comfortable before starting into the mountain of paperwork. I had an unsettling feeling that I was going to be seeing a few familiar faces in these files.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Right so this chapter features a flashback just to let you guys know what Jen's life was like before she met John. I just want to say that most of the stuff that she talks about, that's pretty much what life is like in my neck of the woods. Modern, suburban wealthy Ireland. It's kinda scary when I read it back but I know people that stuff like this happens to on a daily basis...I thought I'd draw on my own knowledge to give her a back story, kinda gives it a more personal feel. Anyway I hope you guys like it and it does tie in nicely so enjoy and sure throw an aule review down if ya want :) Thanks guys and I'll see you next chapter! **

**-Sailor**

And just as I had suspected, the first file I opened was that of a man I knew all too well. I had a flashback of the night I met him, this was way before I had met John and it was one night I had blocked out of my mind. It was at one of the many parties that Bruce Wayne held in his penthouse city apartment. I was still in college at the time but my father decided it would be a good networking opportunity. Everything was going great, the Joker was locked up in Arkham, the crime rate was virtually at zero due to Harvey Dent and the wealthy were free to relish in their shameful affluent ways and I was in the thick of it. I stood there, drank champagne in my designer dress with my hair expertly styled flirting with the billionaire Bruce Wayne and loving the fact he was flirting with me. Every well off suburban girls dream was to flirt with Bruce Wayne and I was no exception. He looked amazing in his designer suit, sipping from a crystal champagne flute and asking me about law. People in little discussion groups talked money, portfolios, stocks, shares and how utterly disgraceful it was that the police force couldn't get the Joker without the help of a private citizen. While I tried my best to talk my way into Mr Wayne's bed another guy, a Wall Street fat cat I'm presuming came up drunk and patted him on the back. "Great party Wayne, you sure do know how to throw a shindig" he burped slightly and a young girl, maybe about a year older than me at the time, came up and wrapped her arm around the man and he winked at Bruce.

"The wife is in Reno" he laughed. Bruce laughed along with him before he hobbled off towards the elevator and Alfred; Mr Wayne's butler pressed the button and smiled as the door closed.

I just looked away, this was nothing new. The men knew they had money and money equals power. All these guys were cheating on their wives with younger women. And the best part was their wives knew but they stayed because they have everything they ever wanted. Money, as much as they want at their fingertips 24/7, designer clothes, and exotic foreign shopping trips, flash cars and they didn't have to work for any of it. They just lunched and played golf during the day while their men went to work. They came home, made dinner and turned the other cheek while they go out that night, slip the wedding ring into their pocket and flash their cash to the young naïve women in the local bar that saw money as everything. And I was one of them. But that's a story for a different night, back to the party. I could feel the Moet that one of the butlers kept pouring into my glass going to my head so I glanced around for the food table while laughing at one of Mr Wayne's many political anecdotes. My eyes locked on the massive table laced with shrimp, more champagne and everything you could possibly want food wise. I told Bruce I would be back in a second after I got some food but being the gentleman that he is told me to stay where I was that he'd bring me some and kissed my hand. That's the thing with these rich, educated men they had proper manners. My mother immediately came over and I could tell she was well on her way alcohol wise but she knew enough to slur in my ear "Get in good with him, he's plenty of money" which I didn't need to be told twice. While she hobbled off trying to look sober I waited for my food when I heard my father talking to me from behind.

"You and Bruce seem to be getting on very well" he smiled. "Keep it going, he's a good one, plenty of money" which again I didn't need to be told. My father was high up in Wall Street and I would see him and Bruce talk money a lot of the time, with my father investing heavily in his corporation so seeing us together would be a perfect match in his eyes. That's the thing with these people if you didn't have money or lost all your money and were of no use to them anymore, they'd turn around straight away and kick you to the curb. My father spotted a young model in a short canary yellow dress, which I saw Bruce come in with earlier and I saw him immediately make a B line for her. Bruce looked up from picking up some cheese and crackers and smiled warmly over at me. I was definitely in here. Now I'm not stupid I understand that Bruce Wayne has many women on the go at once but I didn't know any better. Growing up I was surrounded by this. Every time my mother was away my father would bring home this mysterious aunt I had never met and she would conveniently disappear before my mother got back and the same with mother, she'd bring home the occasional uncle when my father was nowhere to be seen. Jeez, looking back at it, no wonder Bane hates me and my kind. It was only when I met John that I realised that not all men do that and it was a total shock to the system. But then I saw Alfred whisper something in Bruce's ear and his whole demeanour changed, the smile disappeared and he set down the plate and quickly walked down the hall, out of the party and into a locked room. He just left me here, didn't even explain where he was going. I stood craning my neck to see if he was coming back when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the executive of Gotham's Central Bank or a big player as he's known in these circles. Youngish man, well when I say youngish I'd say about 40, tall, broad, dirty blonde hair, very attractive but more importantly money falling out of his ears, wife and three kids, none of which were here tonight.

"What kind of man would leave a ravishing beauty like yourself standing here on your own? You could be snapped up by anyone" he said entering his smooth talking mode seeing no one was coming to claim me like I was a lost wallet.

"I'm Ross" he bent down and kissed my hand and I knew immediately what he was after. I downed the last of my Moet from the flute getting ready for speech, the 'I'm so rich and I'm going to use that to get in your knickers' speech. I had heard it many a time. I noticed his wedding ring was nowhere to be seen.

"More champagne?" he offered in best charming voice. I nodded and he clicked his fingers in the air, a butler about 17, bad acne, awkward stance, and shirt slightly hanging out rushed over. Ross looked him up and down and glanced at the bottle. He wrapped his hand around the body of the bottle and a furious look took over his suave exterior.

"This bottle is warm. Why are you serving warm champagne?" he said practically interrogating the poor kid.

The kid stuttered and searched his head for an answer but nothing came out.

"Go bring me a chilled bottle and for god sake man, tuck in your shirt and do it now, this lady wants champagne and she shouldn't have to wait" he said in a disgusted tone while the waiter rushed into the back room.

"I swear I will be having a word with Bruce about this. Whatever catering company he hired for this will be ruined after I'm done"

I sighed and let his words go in one ear and out the other. Although part of me was slightly turned on by his anger and power he lorded over people.

The kid arrived back within minutes with a fresh, chilled bottle and poured it into my glass and then his. He didn't thank him just stood in front of him as if he wasn't there. He put his arm around my shoulder and led me over towards the couch.

"Will we sit down and talk? Your father tells me you're studying law?" he said sitting down and me following, my dress riding up my leg a bit, thought I'd give him a little preview, which he of course loved.

"Yea I find it very fulfilling…" I started my usual speech I give everyone. I wasn't about to tell them that I go out nearly every night of the week and get locked like every other student on the planet because they don't seem to appreciate that version.

"And what are the plans for after graduation?" he said sipping his champagne.

"I'm not sure, try and find an internship and go from there" I smiled shifting my position so I was slightly closer to him.

"Well how would you like to start off in my bank on a paid salary, not many college graduates could they have that to look forward to" he smirked.

"You would really offer me a position?"

"Yup, I can get you in the legal department and you'll have a job for life, money, company car, company house to live in"

"And I wouldn't have to pay for any of that?"

"God no" he scoffed. "I'll get you set up with a line of credit and we can write off all the expenses under tax or a new bank charge, don't worry about it" he smiled.

"Wow I would love that, you know I don't graduate for another two and a half years?"

"Yea that's fine, the job will still be there for you and until then I can get to know a bit more about my new lawyer" he said his hand starting on my knee and moving up my thigh. I glanced around to make sure no one was looking. No one was of course, this all fit in nicely with the plan they all signed up for. I was going to sleep with a married man and no one seemed to care. Not even my parents. My father was off chatting up some girl who was young enough to be his daughter and my mother was probably trying to sniff out Bruce Wayne for the evening thinking I got nowhere with him. He leaned in and kissed me softly.

"C'mon, my chauffer is downstairs" he said taking the glass out of my hand and helping me up. He placed his hand not so subtly on my arse as we headed for the lift. Alfred smiled and pushed the button. He's been seeing this scene all night.

"Leaving so soon Ms Ryan?"

"Yes Alfred, please tell Bruce I said goodnight"

"Ah yes I will Miss. I am sorry but Bruce had an emergency phone call to attend to. He does apologise for just upping and leaving you"

"It's ok, tell him I forgive him"

"Yes Mr Wayne has missed out big time" laughed Mr O' Carroll Kelly squeezing my arse in the process.

Alfred laughed along and held the elevator door back while we stepped in.

"Goodnight Miss, Sir" he smiled as the door shut.

"I saw Bruce leave earlier all right, wonder what he was up to" Ross mused to himself. He turned me around slightly and stuck his tongue straight down my throat as the lift ascended. Clearly he wasn't too bothered about where Mr Wayne was, as long as he didn't interfere with his evening. The lift doors opened and we walked out into the cold Gotham air which sobered me up slightly. A black Mercedes pulled up and the driver jumped out to open the door. He had more champagne in the car which I avoided except he thrust a glass into my hand, clearly not wanting me to sober up and back out of what was about to happen.

When we got to the penthouse apartment I was brought upstairs shown around and then practically pushed onto the bed where he proceeded to unzip me dress. We kissed for a couple of minutes and I unbuttoned his shirt. The only difference between this time and all the times I've been with guys was when he unzipped his own trousers I couldn't feel the usual poke I feel on my leg when they're lying on top of me and he knew there was something wrong as well. I looked down to his crotch and there was no bulge. Clearly someone had had too much champagne. He growled slightly and kissed me; putting his hand down my underpants to see if that would make it work. I couldn't help but giggle involuntarily because well one, I was very drunk and two, this has never happened before but I must take into consideration his age. Funnily enough, my giggle did nothing to improve matters it just got him more agitated and angry. He got off me and stood beside the bed, grabbed my hair and tried to push my head down to his crotch; I fought back and ended up kneeing him in the balls. His lip twitched and he slapped me hard across the face sending me flying across the bed. I picked myself up, my face going slightly numb from the slap and made a grab for my dress. Clearly they were only gentlemen some of the time. As I raced for the door while trying to dress myself he caught up with me and grabbed a clump of my hair.

"Bitch! This is your fault!"

"It's not my problem that you can't get it up" which obviously didn't help matters.

"I swear if you tell anyone what happened here, I will ruin you and I will ruin your whole family!" he roared. He let go of my hair throwing me towards the door. I zipped up my dress and was gone. I hailed a cab and headed straight home. I only wished Bruce Wayne had of stayed with me that night.

The next morning when I got up and walked into my kitchen, my mother was sitting there chatting to her gossipy mate, telling her all about the events of the night previous. I still had a red hand print on my face but I told my mother I had snuck off to a nightclub in town and some girl had started on me. She tutted and asked why would I want to hang out in those dingy places full of disgusting people when I was already at a party with people of such a high calibre.

"It was like that time you wanted to go to that rap concert and I wouldn't let you because those people are just the scum of the earth, you snuck out of the house and went anyway! You're forever doing that" she laughed to which her mate laughed too. "I was in Mexico at the time but the housekeeper was beside herself!" which caused more laughter between the two of them.

Needless to say at the next Wayne benefit, I heard no more from Mr O' Carroll Kelly or that amazing job he had promised me when I graduated. Like I said earlier, I was now of no use to him so he just kicked me to the curb.

But that didn't seem to matter now because whatever this madman was planning, it was big and all the money in the world wasn't going to save them from the firing line this time and I certainly wasn't going to step in to save him when his judgment day arrives and I'll be standing in the court watching it all unfold. I'd like to see him try and slap me with this monster standing right beside me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys super short chapter! I know I am sorry but the next one will be longer. I just thought I'd use this to create the scene for the next chapter :) So here we go, as always I love all my readers and reviewers so here we go. See you next chapter :)**

**-Sailor**

By the time Bane got home I had only worked through a couple of files. I had stopped when I got to a particular one, it was my father. I was staring at for about an hour, thinking if I could hide it but I knew there was a chance Bane already knew everyone who was already in the files and if I hid one that would just end bad for me. I heard the keys rattle in the lock and the door burst open with Bane trundling through wearing a boiler suit he didn't leave in and his helmet in hand.

"How are you getting on?"

"Fine…I have a question"

"O?" he said throwing his helmet on his bed.

"Yea…when I have to stand up in court, what exactly am I supposed to be saying?"

"Well there will be a judge…"

"Is there going to be a jury and defence?"

"Not exactly, the judge will be the jury also"

"But that's not…"

"If you say due process…" he growled.

"Sorry"

He laughed lowly. "I understand that was your job…but now you've got to learn the new way justice will be administrated through Gotham…" he spoke, his voice taking on a menacing tone.

"Gotham has limped on as a society of either fabulous wealth or crushing poverty. And I intend to burn it to the ground and you can watch as a new era rises from those ashes"

"I know Gotham isn't perfect…but…"

"I will make Gotham great again!" he suddenly roared.

"Ok…" I said calmly not wanting him to roar like that again "But what will happen to me?"

"I have no yet decided little one"

I knew what that meant. I'm going to use you until you are of no use then throw your body down the sewer line.

After a couple more minutes of deafening silence he finally spoke again.

"Follow me"

"What?"

"I said follow me"

I got up out of the chair and walked behind him. He walked over to a large metal door and pulled the handle sharply, his muscles jutting from his boiler suit. A white wash wall was behind it along with a door. He pulled the door open and stepped in. He flicked on a light that buzzed loudly before remaining solid. It was a bathroom, like something out of a horror movie. Dirty, stained tiles etched into the wall, a large filthy bathtub sitting in the corner and a toilet, again obliterated with dirt. I wrinkled my nose and stood on the periphery of the room. He walked over to little cupboard and took out a pile of navy material similar to the material he was wearing. He pointed to the bathtub and looked directly at me.

"You may take a bath and change into these, I'll take your suit you'll be needing it soon enough"

"Em…you know what I'm fine"

Now that wasn't true, I could feel how filthy I was and I knew there was a smell off my shirt and jacket.

He just shook his head and pointed to bath again. He used his other hand to gesture me into the room. I reluctantly stepped in and stood in front of the tub. He turned on the taps and the tub began to fill. I had images of him trying to drown me in the tub and being locked in the room never to be found. He glanced at me while he placed his hand in the water and I stepped back slightly.

"Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not" I lied.

"Yes you are…I know when women are afraid. I also know when women are pretending to be tough when really they are terrified"

He switched the taps off as I watched the heat rise from the tub.

"I'm not" I said my voice shaking slightly. He shook his head and stood back up walking over to me.

"Give me your suit I will have it cleaned"

I shuffled slightly on the spot. He glared intensely at me and his expression softened.

"I'll turn around and throw them in front of me"

The monster walked behind me and I began unbuttoning my shirt and threw it in front of him along with my skirt and tried to cover my body even though I knew he couldn't see me. I stepped into the achingly hot bath and settled into slowly. Bane picked up the clothes and walked straight out the door shutting it firmly behind him. I was finally able to relax in the hot bath. It was a small comfort that reminded me of home. I grabbed the small bar of soap and dipped it in the water, creating a top layer of froth on the water blocking my body from my sight. My mind returned to John as it usually does. I wondered where he was, was he even alive. Was Gotham still standing? It's like I'm living under a rock here. I lathered up my hair and then slipped under the water slowly. The bathtub was so big that my whole body fit lying straight down without any of me being exposed to the chill air. I closed my eyes under the water and for a moment everything seemed normal again. Every noise was blocked out, every thought left my brain and I felt myself relax for the first time since I got here. If only I could stay under the water forever and never have to resurface, never have to face that monster, never have to do this whole court process he has planned, everything would be so much easier if I just slipped into unconsciousness right now…but just as I willed myself to stay under the water, my natural survival instinct kicked in and I felt my mouth rise to the top and take another lungful of air before delving under again. I really missed John and I could feel my whole stomach tying up in knots thinking about him. I could feel my knees getting quite uncomfortable so I decided to put my legs up so my knees were sticking slightly out of the water. Once I reached my limit I went up and took another breath. I went back down and everything was silent again, my whole world was at peace. That was of course until I felt a slightly warm touch on my cold, wet bare knee. My eyes immediately burst open and I shot out of the water like a demon. I rubbed my eyes to clear the soap and saw Bane staring at me, his hand firmly pressed on my knee.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the story. I will talk to you guys later :)**

**-Sailor**

"What! What!" I gasped but my panic didn't seem to bother him. He simply sat there on the edge of the tub staring intently into my eyes and every so often back down at my knee and generally in the water. At that point I was glad of the layer of froth I had created on the water. It hid most of what I wanted it to.

"What are you doing?" I said fear rising within me thinking that this was the final straw for me that he was going to strangle me or drown me and that was it. That was how I was going to die and probably no one would find me if he locked me away in this horrible bathroom.

"What are you doing?" I asked again trying to convey strength and courage but failing miserably. But he simply ignored me like he did so well. His hand moved slightly catching between both my knees and I could actually see my heart beating out of my chest. Yup this was without a doubt how I was going to die. His hand moved slightly up my inner thigh, his finger brushing the top of the water.

"You have scars" he said looking directly into my eyes. I knew his fingers were feeling the long lines of bumps on my legs.

"They're not scars, they're just stretch marks" I corrected. I don't know why I felt it was important to distinguish between them.

"These are imperfections"

For a guy who wore that type of mask he wasn't half judgemental.

"I know they are, you get them when you put on weight" I snipped wrapping my arms around the top of my body to block him seeing any of the other fat parts on my body. I was hoping he wasn't going to see the ones on my stomach. I clenched my knees together thinking this would discourage him and he would remove his hand but it didn't seem to bother him.

"Please don't…"

He ran his fingers up and down my thigh slowly and I clenched my eyes knowing exactly what was going to happen. Except it didn't happen…his hand remained on my leg and nowhere else, his eyes kept the stare with mine.

"Does the man you live with mind these scars?"

"I don't live with a man" I lied.

He nodded slowly. Even though he didn't do anything, the feeling of dread that washed over me remained and I felt myself shaking inside with fear, which he picked up on somehow.

"Would it bother you if a man saw them?"

For a moment I thought did he seriously just say that? And I couldn't think of an answer because well…it was a strange question. John had never said anything; I don't think he would even notice.

"Em, yea I suppose I would…no one has ever really taken notice though"

"So no man you've been with has noticed them? Of course animals won't notice anything about their prey before they devour it"

"He's not an animal!" I snapped.

"So you do live with a man" he mused to himself. You'd think for a lawyer I'd see that one coming. I mentally slapped myself and prepared for anymore mind tricks he had planned.

"Does he treat you right?"

"What?" I said shaking my head still unable to believe I was even having this conversation let alone wet and naked with a man who rightly should have been executed in a prison years ago.

"Does he treat you right?" he repeated.

"Yea he treats me great" I said rubbing the soap from my eye.

"Is he strong enough to protect you?"

I thought for a minute. Truth being told, I had more fat on my body than John but he was tough, he was from the streets and he was a cop I'd say he'd put it up to anyone in a fight.

"Yes well he's not a tank" I said staring at the traps that jutted from his neck "…but he's tough and if someone started something with me I'd say he'd be able to protect me fine"

"You don't sound too sure"

I still can't believe he's quizzing me about this.

"I am sure"

"So how come it was so easy for me to take you?"

"Excuse you! I was in work and you broke in and were ransacking the files and he was already in work. Besides I should be able to go to work without worrying about being kidnapped!"

"And he hasn't come looking for you" he said ignoring my comment, his eyes running along where his hand was stroking my leg.

"How do you know that?"

"I just know…" he squinted "if it was me I would have found you already"

"I know John, I know he's using everything in his power to find me" I sneered.

"John…" he mused.

I mentally hit myself again. Why do I keep opening my mouth?

"Does he provide a good home for you?"

"What?"

"He should look after you"

"What? This isn't the 17th century…we're equal, we share bills and split everything"

"But as man of the house he should take care of his woman"

"He does!" I snapped getting really sick of this of this line of questioning. "He certainly doesn't molest me while I'm trying to take a bath" I mumbled.

Suddenly I saw his eyes grow dark and he grabbed me by the neck with one hand and yanked me from the bathtub. I slipped and fell on the ground causing him to lose his grasp on my neck. I heard him growl as he grabbed a clump of my hair and dragged me to my feet. He dragged me over to the wall and pinned me up against it. His enormous hand wrapped itself around my neck slowly cutting off my air.

"I'm sorry" I gasped.

But he didn't say anything, his forehead just creased the more he squeezed my neck. I dug my nails into his hand but it didn't seem to bother him. My hair dripping wet fell slightly over my face blocking my view but it didn't matter I knew this was how I was going to die. I could feel the bubbles of life giving oxygen in my brain exploding and not being replaced by anything and vision at the corner of my eyes started growing dim.

"Talia?" he whispered.

Then I fell to the ground lying in a puddle of water gasping for air trying to get as much into my body as possible. I felt myself gag slightly with some stomach bile escaping from my mouth. He threw the overalls on top of me and I looked up at him, my vision starting to go back to normal. He leaned down and rubbed my hair out of my face. After a few minutes my body stopped shaking as much and I began processing what was happening again. He rubbed my back while I puked and wretched up whatever contents were left in my stomach.

"Ssh little one, its ok"

"Bane…" I coughed. "Who's Talia?"

Some noise came from his mask as his hand rested on my back.

"Put on the overalls…we're going to be having a visitor soon" he said his eyes closing tight.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Hope everyone is well and enjoying the story :) Here's a new chapter for you. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed and added it to their faves. I love getting those emails :D Anyway that's it for now folks**

**-Sailor**

I zipped up the overalls, my hair curling and frizzing with my lack of a hair straightener. I opened the door to the bathroom slightly and peered out. I saw Bane hunkered down fiddling with something; he wasn't wearing his overalls he had changed into what looked like a bullet proof vest. I didn't know who this visitor he was talking about was there was no one here. The overalls were filthily by the way. They were baggy and dusty and just rotten. If it wasn't for his hand being wrapped around my neck I probably would have questioned their source. My neck was starting to pain me as well, and it was probably beginning to bruise horribly. I stepped out and he turned around almost immediately. He glanced at me over his shoulder and turned back to what he was doing. I stood awkwardly at the door not wanting him to attack me again but then maybe it would have been nicer if he had just gotten it over with.

"Go lie down" he said his gaze shifting to the cage.

I stepped over and saw the door was open with the keys in the lock. I stepped inside and closed over the door sitting with my knees under my chin. He suddenly appeared, locked the door and yanked the keys from the lock.

I wasn't sitting there long when I heard people arriving and whispering to Bane as he sat at his desk. I peered out of the bars waiting for this visitor he spoke of. They spoke in hushed tones and glanced behind them when they saw I had sat leaning against the bars and could hear what they were saying.

Bane suddenly turned around fully in his chair and stared at me.

"No movement" he said with one swipe of his hand.

I didn't say anything just kept his stare. I don't know why he's so fussy about me moving.

"I'm not moving" I mumbled.

"Quiet!" he bellowed.

I bit my lip and looked at the ground. Whoever this Talia was obviously touched a serious nerve with Bane.

"Boss…what will we do with her when…he's here?"

He glanced back around at me and I met his gaze through the bars.

"She'll be fine, I'll hide her"

"But…you know what he's like…"

"She'll be fine" he growled.

I leaned my face against the bars, watching for the next few hours as loads of his workers came in, talked to him and sketched back out. Eventually Bane turned his attention back towards me. He threw on what looked like a bullet proof vest, grabbed the keys and waltzed over to my cage.

"Now child, I want you to sit at my desk and continue with your work" he said putting the key in the lock. "And sit there, don't move. And if someone comes in and talks to you, ignore them. They shouldn't but just in case" he said unlocking the door.

He walked me over to the desk, pulled out the chair and put some files in front of me.

"Who's this visitor?"

He looked down at me; his eyes flickered from side to side before leaning down and whispering to me, his eyes striking mine causing me to sit back from him slightly. I was even more wary of him since he nearly strangled me to death.

"That is nothing for you to worry about little one" he rubbed my head gently and I felt like I did when I was in the bath. Then something happened. His eyes closed and his other hand that was resting on the arm of the chair moved to the side of my face clasping my cheek gently. My breath caught in my throat because I honestly thought he was going to hit me. I twitched at his touch which he didn't heed. He inhaled deeply as his thumb ran over my cheekbone. I couldn't help it, as much as I didn't want to, my eyes closed feeling his warm touch, it reminded me of when John first touched my face but that was such a long time ago…I haven't felt that in a while I hate to admit. I put my hand gently on his one as it rested on my face. But just as I was feeling at ease and I moved my face slightly to rest more on his hand, it was gone. By the time I opened my eyes he was storming towards the bathroom, pulled open the door and disappeared inside. I exhaled heavily, my head spinning trying to understand what just happened. I turned around at my desk and opened a file not really looking at it, my mind still turned upside down. I glanced at the bathroom door wondering what he was doing.

I almost lifted myself from the chair but then his words rang in my head.

"No movement child"

But I decided I had to go see for myself. He can't just touch me, stir up these feelings and just walk away. I got up slowly and walked as quietly as I could towards the bathroom. I opened the door slightly and peered through the crack. I saw him standing over the sink looking in the mirror at his reflection. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling deeply. I positioned myself at the slight crack to see a bit better. His enormous hands rested on the porcelain before reaching around the back of his mask and unclipping it. I had never seen him without his mask. I tried to stop my breathing in case he caught me and stopped. It fell from his head and he held it to his mouth taking a few deep breaths before putting it down. He looked almost half normal. Red lines covered his face outlining where his mask sits. He set it down on the sink and picked up something from the other side. I peered closer as he looked at himself in the mirror. He flicked it, the metal opening and catching the light, it was a razor, a cut throat was so weird seeing him doing something that normal men do but I suppose he is a man after all. He lifted the razor to his face slowly, his hand shaking like I've never seen before. I jumped seeing him drop the razor, it falling into the sink as he clambered for his mask shoving it to his face and inhaling deeply. His face relaxed as the venom coursed through his veins. He put down the mask and tried again but he just dropped the razor again and fell to his knees inhaling from his mask. The pain must be unbearable for him without the venom. A floorboard creaked under my foot and I saw his eyes dart over to the door. He picked himself up and sat on the edge of the bathtub inhaling staring at the door. I figured the jig was up but he didn't seem to have the strength to come over to me. So I went against everything that was screaming inside my head and opened the door. I stood in the doorway, my hands in the pockets of my overalls staring at Bane who just stared back. A noise came from his mask like he was trying to say something but it wasn't coming through. I slowly walked over wary that his temper can flare up at any time. His body heaved up and down as I approached. I placed my hand on his massive shoulder and saw him look up. I flicked on the water in the sink and picked up the razor, the steel smiling in the light. I placed my hand on the top of his head, my finger running along the line where his mask sat. He looked up and closed his eyes slowly. I dipped my hand in water, and using my other hand guided his mask down. He was growing some slight stubble. I rubbed the water over his face and lifted his mask back to his mouth. I picked up the little tin of gel and rubbed the shaving brush in it. I lifted his head up to look at me and lathered up his cheeks and quickly under his mask before replacing it.

"Bane…can you sit with each leg on either side of the tub so I can face you"

He complied without a fuss and I followed, I could still reach the sink. I placed my hand under his chin lifting it slightly to start with the underside of his neck. He still held the mask over his face able to breath in the venom. He took one last big breath and took it down. I steadied my hand and ran the extremely sharp blade over the soft skin of his neck. I could kill him right now if I wanted too. One quick swipe would end this forever. Not only saving myself but saving Gotham. One quick swipe…he lifted the mask up and took another lungful. I wiped the blade on my overalls after each swipe. I moved to the middle and grazed it over his Adams apple that quivered slightly dancing over a slight pink scar he had. I heard a slight whimper and lifted the mask for him to breathe some more.

"Ssh" I soothed as I ran the blade against the course stubble, running my hand over each area to make sure I didn't miss anything and knowing my hands, cold from the water, eased the hot skin after the severe scraping of the blade. If I killed him right now, where could I go? Was there any way out of here?

I placed my hand on his and moved his mask down. I would have to do it as quick as possible before the pain gets too much. I wiped the blade and ran it beside his lip. I grazed it along his chin. He had to take another breath.

"Ssh, take as long as you need" I whispered.

His eyes hit mine, his chocolate brown orbs watching my every movement.

I twisted his face to the left getting the bits I missed before wiping the blade and flicking it back inside its safety hold. I placed it on the sink and emptied the water. I turned back to him as he tried to clip his mask back on. I reached behind his head and clipped it for him while he fixed the front over his mouth until it was comfortable. His hand found its way onto mine pulling me slightly to sit beside him. He grasped both my hands on my knee and kept his eyes locked on them. I grasped his hands not looking at him either. He didn't move an inch and neither did I.

A noise came from outside which caused him to look up. He ripped his hands from mine, his face suddenly contorted with anger and stormed out leaving me sitting there and it suddenly hit me how cold this bathroom is.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Hope everyone is well, here's a new chapter for you guys :) Feel free to review I do love reading them :) Also if anyone is a fan of 'The Take' staring Tom Hardy as Freddie, I have a story written but since The Take isn't a category here it's under Misc TV but you'll find it on my profile :) Just in case anyone was looking for The Take fanfiction. Anyway that's all for now, so enjoy and I'll talk to you guys again :)**

**-Sailor**

I took a deep breath and stood up my legs feeling like jelly. I walked over to the door and peered out. He was leaning down talking to a guy and it was like what just happened didn't even register in his head. He saw me looking out and gestured for me to come towards him. I stepped out and walked towards him as he pointed at a door making his little worker walk towards it. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked me dead in the eye but said nothing. After what seemed like forever he finally spoke.

"When this starts…you keep a low profile little one"

"Let me guess…no movement"

He nodded and pulled me by the shoulder a bit closer to him.

"No movement and keep quiet…"

He walked with me in toe through two large double doors at the other end of the room. We walked through a narrow corridor and then out through two more doors. We emerged into a massive room that had a large waterfall right in the centre clearly the central hub of the sewer system. Bridges and tunnels snaked around while Bane's little minions ran around. As soon as we arrived they all seemed to disappear to places they seemed to have been assigned. He wrapped his huge arm around my shoulder and began talking.

"Men, you are about to witness history…be prepared" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the stone walls.

For a moment I thought he had forgotten about me even though his massive arm was draped across me.

"What am I doing here?"

"I thought you'd like to witness history in the making"

"Ok…but I would have been fine with staying in the cell" I said feeling slightly uncomfortable with all his workers standing around looking at us.

"No, no you get to see everything from up here" he said leading up a small stairs to another holding cell. He walked in with me and closed the cage door looking from left to right before walking towards me until my back hit against the far wall of the cell.

"Thank you for earlier. It is greatly appreciated"

"Don't worry I was happy to do it" I smiled meekly.

He reached out and held my two hands against his chest.

"You didn't have to, you're my prisoner and I wouldn't expect such a thing"

"It's fine…" I said my voice taking a flat tone. Did he just call me his prisoner? Ok, he was technically right but he didn't have to say it.

He leaned down and I could feel his robotic mummer in my ear giving me goose bumps.

"After this…I will get you some food, I understand you must be hungry" he whispered.

I nodded and he turned walking back out. Obviously he didn't trust me that much because he locked the cage and took the key with him.

This cage I was in was darker and I didn't really take any time to look around it. I went to the cage door pressing my face up against the bars straining to see what was going on and where Bane was. It was only a few minutes when I saw Bane walk on the bridge and stand there, his fingers holding the straps on his vest. Suddenly I heard a large crash of a gate closing. I looked over and nearly wet my trousers when I saw the Batman standing at the other end of the bridge. Then I remembered John…I haven't thought about him in a while and I felt a blanket of guilt fall across me. A spot light shone on Bane as Batman turned around to say something to the person on the other side of the gate.

"Let's not stand on ceremony here…Mr Wayne"

Bane walked towards him, his foot falling heavily under his weight making ominous periodic thuds across the bridge. The Bat suddenly started throwing punches at Bane bouncing off his armour chest. Bane immediately caught his fist and pushed it back towards him.

"Patience cost you your strength…victory has defeated you" he spoke in a sinister tone, one I hadn't heard before. Batman obviously just tried to through everything he had at him, punching him in the face, Bane's head falling from side to side but clearly not making any difference to Bane. Bane suddenly kicked him off the bridge underneath, his cape opening and slowing his fall slightly. I strained my neck to see down but my vision was impaired by the bridge. Bane jumped over the hand rail and climbed down a chain, his muscles catching the light as he worked his arm down the chain to the Batman. He really was a machine. I just heard a few horrible thuds which I'm guessing from the groans belonged to the Batman as Bane thrashed his head against the steel support of the bridge. I heard the Batman's exhausted groans as he punched Bane but I couldn't hear any reaction from him so it clearly wasn't making any difference. It was such a different scene to that that I only saw less than an hour ago of the man shaking unable to hold his razor still, the man who was unable to do a simple task like shaving himself without holding that mask to his mouth every few minutes. That venom must really keep the pain at bay. I could hear Bane's menacing footsteps on a lower set of stairs as the Batman groaned in pain. I heard a few slight popping noises and some dust rose through the air from underneath my cage.

"Theatricality and deception…powerful agents to the uninitiated…but we are initiated aren't we Bruce? Members of the league of shadows!"

I could hear the armour Bruce Wayne wore being pounded by Bane.

"And you betrayed us!"

"You were excommunicated…by a gang of psychopaths…"

There was silence for a few more seconds then I heard Bane punch the bat hard in the stomach.

"I am the league of shadows! And I am here to fulfil Ra's Al Ghul's destiny!"

Suddenly they both came bundling into my view again and I saw Batman had Bane pinned, I'm sure Bane certainly wasn't going to allow that. What was I saying? I should be cheering on Batman to kill Bane and save me and get me back to John. Yes, John the love of my life. I nodded to myself agreeing with my train of thought as Bane head-butted Batman and threw him to the side.

"You fight like a younger man! Nothing held back…it's admirable…but mistaken…"

Suddenly everything went dark and I looked around in panic my eyes trying to find any sign of light. I suddenly got flashbacks of my laser eye surgery, the light would disappear and I was told I would think I was blind for a few minutes. I clutched the bars wishing the light to come back on. Then I heard a low growl come from Bane and I got the shivers, I'm not going to lie. His voice was so menacing and yet…there was something about it.

"Ohhhh…you think darkness is your ally…but you merely adopted the dark, I was born in it! Moulded by it…I didn't see the light until I was a man by then it was nothing to me but blinding! The shadows betray you because they belong to me!" he sneered.

Then I heard something crack loudly. I looked down as far as I could and saw Bane's back heaving over a lifeless black heap. He strode away looking up at me and meeting my stare. I wasn't exactly sure who his next line was aimed at.

"I will show you where I have made my home whilst preparing to bring justice…then I will break you"

A small explosion sent me back on my arse but I quickly got back up to see what was going on.

"Your precious armoury, gratefully accepted, we will need it" he sighed.

Then I heard a slight moan from the black heap and Bane looked straight back over.

"Ah yes I was wondering what would break first…" he said punching him hard again. "Your spirit…" he said bending down to pick him up. I was dazzled by his strength he lifted this fully sized man over his head and held him there. "Or your body!"

And with a crash the bat's body hit Bane's knee making an almighty crack before falling lifelessly onto the floor once more. Bane looked up at me once more, bent down and peeled off the broken half of his mask and glanced at it before chucking it into the water supply while walking back up the stairs towards my cage.

* * *

He opened up the door and I backed away slightly. He still intimidated me I can't lie.

"See little one...history in the making"

"Did you…did you kill him?"

"That's not for your concern right now, but the bat is officially broken" he said with an air of pride veiled in his voice.

"So without your mask…"

"Don't you ever tell what you saw in the bathroom" he suddenly growled using a tone that he's never used with me before.

"No, no I wouldn't I promise"

"A woman's promise is meaningless…" he said waving his hand in front of his face.

"No I swear I won't say anything"

Now I know I'm still a total weasel and I know if it ever comes up in conversation that would be the first thing I'd say. But then he put his hand on my forehead and leaned in close.

"You're lying"

"Bane…I promise on my life I won't say anything"

Ok I've never gone that before and actually believed myself but I actually felt shock in my head as I said it I was actually taking it seriously.

"Be sure you don't…or life can be made very difficult for you" he said turning back around. I wasn't sure whether to follow him or not so I just stood there awkwardly.

He stood at the door and gestured for me to come forward.

"Come on, it's time for dinner" he said brightly, well as brightly as he could. We walked down the stairs as all his men looked on he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side, his fiery, passionate eyes darting from side to side until we were back in our original room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! How's everybody doing? So here's a new chapter hope you like it and thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers I love you all! x**

**-Sailor**

He sat me on his bed while he pulled on another door I didn't know was there. The darkness seemed to cover all the doors. He pushed it open and closed it while I got to contemplate what I just witnessed. I just watched my kidnapper beat to a bloody pulp quite possibly my only chance to get out of here and back to my normal life, and yet I wasn't as scared as I should have been. Just as I was contemplating what the fuck was wrong with me, the door swung open and Bane appeared carrying a table and then emerged with two chairs. He set them down in the centre of the room before disappearing back into the room. He then emerged carrying a huge tray setting it down on the table. Without looking up he gestured for me to come over and sit in the chair. He lifted the cover off the tray revealing two dinners of steak and potatoes. It was hardly the most romantic dinner I've ever had but I was too hungry to care.

"Eat" he simply stated as he sat down opposite me.

Even though he had a dinner set out in front of him he didn't touch it, just merely stared at me milling into mine without a second thought.

"Are you not gonna…?"

"Just eat" he said not breaking eye contact.

I began to slow down feeling myself becoming full and I knew now was as good a chance as any to ask what has been bothering me.

"Bane, who is this Talia?"

He didn't speak for a few moments continuing to stare at me.

"She is a friend…someone who I sacrificed my entire self for, someone who I felt strong, uncontrollable feelings for. I had never felt this way before, I used to try and bottle them up but I just couldn't. I loved her and I had hoped she felt the same way"

"She didn't?"

"When she came back to me after her father's death she was a different person, so consumed by revenge she didn't open herself up to having any other types of feelings…she lost that bright spark in her eyes, that fire that I loved. It was gone, never to return"

It was slightly unsettling hearing him talk about feelings and love since I had just seen him beat someone to a bloody pulp.

"She was a different person only interested in satisfying her lust for vengeance. But I still wanted to be close to her so I promised to help. I would do anything for her. But I noticed my feelings were not going away…and then I saw you and those feelings I have towards Talia, or what Talia used to be, arose stronger so I took you"

"But I'm not Talia"

"O I know you're not Talia, you could never be Talia"

Not going to lie, that hurt a bit.

"But you're kind and capable of love whereas she is not, well not anymore…and you have some very favourable qualities that I've noticed Talia never possessed"

Did he seriously just say that?

"What?"

"When I saw you in that office I could tell straight away and having you here has only confirmed my suspicions. You are what Talia used to be before she was consumed by revenge. When I look into your eyes I see great love, passion and tenderness and I couldn't help myself, I had to take you…even just to satisfy my own twisted pathology"

"But I had my own life"

"I know and I am sorry and one day I will apologise to the man I took you from. People are inherently selfish, it's a natural trait. I'm sure one day he'll understand"

I wasn't entirely sure what my feelings were right now to be honest.

"But I love John"

"Do you? You haven't mentioned him, only when I mentioned him"

"Well yea but that's just because…" I stuttered.

"And he hasn't found you yet, and like I said to you before" he said his hands reaching over and resting on my own "If it was me…I would have found you by now. That's what real love will do to you"

"John does love me" I sneered.

"Fine little one…I believe we have gotten off topic anyway" he said looking down at his dinner.

"Are you going to eat that?" I snipped.

"I wanted to make sure you ate first… I understand food can make some women feel quite uncomfortable so I had to make sure you ate it. I don't really understand why because it is necessary."

I will admit, he struck a nerve when he said that, for years I suffered with an eating disorder and food was never a friend of mine. I mean I didn't get those stretch marks for nothing but I decided not to say anything and skip over that comment.

He reached behind his head and loosened his mask before picking up some small bits of food and putting them in his mouth.

"I suppose that's part of the story regarding those lines on your legs…" he said as I watched his huge jaw chew on the tiny portions of food he put in his mouth.

"What?"

"Your stretch marks"

I winced slightly as he said that. The last thing I wanted to talk about was that actually I never wanted to talk about it. While John never mentioned it, it seemed to be all Bane wanted to talk about.

"What is this?" he said waving his hand over his face obviously referring to my expression that I did involuntarily.

"I just…I just don't like talking about them"

"What, the lines on your legs?"

"Yes" I hissed.

"Why not, they are part of you and your story" he said taking another small bit of food as I watched it disappear under his mask.

"Because…" I felt my breath hitch in my throat. "Because they're just ugly and disgusting, they're a reminder of bubbling fat and just…"

"How can you speak about your own body like that?"

"Because I hate them"

"But they are lines that are part of your story"

"Can we change the subject please?" I pleaded as his eyes watched me while he ate. This line of conversation was making me very uncomfortable.

He inhaled deeply from his mask and kept his eye contact.

"So where is Talia now?"

"Working on her master plan" he hissed.

Touchy subject…

"And what you're working on it from this end?"

"Yea…she's not interested in anything anymore except her father's plan for Gotham"

"Why are you doing this? By the sounds of it she's just using you"

"I told you I just wanted to be close to her. See I had no one else…and then I saw you. But now, once I know our plan is complete I can move on" he said leaning over the table.

"So I can't go home?"

But funnily enough, I didn't get the lump in my throat I got when I first got here.

"But what would you be going home to little one?"

"Well…my life"

"Working 60 hour weeks trying to scrape a living? I can give you everything you could ever want…"

I now had a lump in my stomach. Half of me was looking into his chocolate eyes and seeing love while the other half of me was being logical and knowing I couldn't run away into the sunset with this terrorist and that I already had someone who loved me. Although there was something that Bane had said that was niggling at me. John hadn't found me yet and he was supposed to be working on these tunnels. I looked up at him and saw his brow relax as if he was smiling slightly. He took one more lungful from his mask before taking it off completely.

"Bane…what are you doing?"

He placed it on the table and I already saw his hand shaking, the pain must be unbearable. He got up supporting himself with the table. It was so weird seeing a man of this size having to support his weight, especially when I had just seen him lift a fully grown man over his head and break him over his knee like he was a doll. He got up and hobbled around to my side of the table, leaning down and breathing heavily into my face. Then he hitched his breath, leant down more and brushed his lips off mine. I felt my whole insides explode as I involuntarily pulled away slightly but he just leaned in further until his lips were pressed fully against my own. His shaky hand found its way onto my cheek as I pushed myself closer to him. I could taste the chemicals in his breath and they were intoxicating. But before I got a chance to savour everything about the whole moment, Bane fell to the ground his whole face contorted with pain, clutching his mouth. I instantly grabbed the mask off the table and held it to his face rubbing his back as he inhaled. His body stopped shaking eventually so I took the opportunity to tighten it around his head. I helped him to his feet, allowing him to put his weight on me as I helped him over to his bed. Thank god it was only a few steps because the fucking weight of him, my back was nearly broken. He sat on the bed, his head lolling forward still waiting for the venom to make its way through his entire body.

"Bane you shouldn't take off your mask like that…" I said rubbing his head. I glanced over my shoulder at my cell and turned to walk back to it. But just as I turned away I felt someone grab my waist. Bane's huge arms wrapped themselves around my waist, his head resting against my stomach.

"Thank you" he murmured.

I bent down and kissed the top of his head, my lips resting for a few seconds before I straightened up. He eventually released me from his grip but continued to stare at his hands. I stepped back over to my cell, opened the door and sat down closing over the gate. He merely looked up at me as I made myself comfortable on the thin mattress. Then instead of doing what I thought he would do which was coming over, locking the door and taking the key, he merely shook his head faintly and lay down on his bed rubbing his eyes before his hands settled on his stomach, my gate being left slightly ajar.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! How's everyone doing? So here's a new chapter, hope you like it :D O and I'm not American but the day that is in it I have to say it :) Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers, reviewers and followers, hope you're having an amazing day and I am very thankful for all of you amazing readers from all around the world :) So here we go, enjoy! **

**-Sailor**

I tried to sleep, I really did. I urged myself to sleep knowing I would regret it later. But all the high emotions, tensions and feelings were mixing together in a cocktail that had me buzzing and yet exhausted. I wasn't sure what my feelings were for Bane right now. I mean, there was something about him but I had a whole life before Bane and I couldn't just abandon all that. I had a career, and if there was even a snifter that I was hanging around with the likes of him my career would have been over before it started. And what would be the outcome? Live in the sewers for the rest of my days? I tossed and turned and eventually lay facing outwards as I saw Bane lie on his bed, his huge chest heaving up and down periodically. I noticed he had thrown his vest to one side, must have taken it off while I was turned away. I sat up and pushed the door open a bit more with my foot keeping my eyes fixed on him in case he woke up. After about an hour of staring at him I realised if he woke up and found me staring him out of it I would have no explanation. I decided go to the bathroom then lie back down and force myself to sleep. I stood up and pushed the door open causing it to creak loudly. I saw him stir slightly before settling back. I tip toed over to the bathroom and opened the door as quietly as I could. When I was finished I turned off the light and went back outside and was met with Bane sitting up on his bed staring at me.

"You forgot to lock the door…" I mumbled.

"I didn't forget…sleep eluding you?"

"Yea…did I wake you?"

"No I wasn't asleep, just thinking"

I nodded and stepped back over to my cage.

"Sleep here, it might help" he said glancing over and catching my eye.

"O no that's fine, that's your bed I understand that"

He got up and gestured for me to come over. He sat me down placing his hands on my shoulders and pushing me down lightly. I lay fully down and he sat on the edge looking over to my cage. He reached around and pulled the blanket over me. Amazingly I could feel my eyes drooping over straight away where I thought my brain would never turn it off but then I felt him run his fingers through my side fringe that was falling back over the pillow and I suddenly felt at ease. I felt a few strands of hair fall back onto my forehead; I could hear his left arm retracting and his right arm reaching out and brushing them from eyes. I felt one of his fingers scratch my forehead triggering me to wake from my light sleep.

"I apologise"

"For what?"

"I scratched you by accident" he said looking down at his hand.

"It's grand" I yawned sitting up slightly.

He looked up and I had a feeling there was something on my face.

"What is it?"

"You have a big scratch on your forehead now"

"O…it's ok" I said putting my hand up to it feeling the raised line, it wasn't that big.

"I forgot for a second"

"Forgot what?"

"My hand…" he said stretching it out in front of me.

His little finger on his right hand was tucked in towards his palm and didn't reach out with his other fingers; it looked like it was permanently curled. I hadn't even noticed it, I suppose it's so small that you would only notice if he brought it to your attention. I reached out and touched it, I don't know why I did it just seemed like something I had to do.

"What happened to it?"

"Old injury that never healed properly"

"Can you feel that?" I said running my finger over it.

He just shook his head, the touch obviously not registering with him. I stretched it out holding it with his other fingers.

"Does that hurt? When I stretch it out?"

"Not really" he sighed.

I let it go and it involuntarily curled back under.

"Is it annoying?"

"Not really, it's just something I live with"

I brought his hand up and kissed it and I heard him swallow heavily, his eyes fixed on his hand.

"I felt something that time…very slight" he mumbled.

I shuffled and lay back on the bed my head resting on my arm, my hand not leaving his. He looked me dead in the eye and I moved over slightly giving him room to lie beside me. I felt the whole side of my bed rise as he let his weight collapse beside me. I rested my hand on his chest feeling the dull ache of his heart through his thick muscle. He turned his head to look at me, putting his hand over mine. I don't know what took over me but I pulled his hand slightly leading him to lie practically on top of me. His knees went on either side of my waist and I could feel him holding his weight up so he didn't crush me. His face was inches away from mine; I could feel his breath coming out through the mask slightly and a hard bulge pressed against my crotch. He reached up and started fiddling with the back of his mask but I put my hands on either side of his face holding it to him.

"No don't, the pain…it's not worth it" I whispered.

I brought his hands down and rested them on the mattress over my shoulder. I ran my fingers over the little, icy pipes of his mask, his eyes closing as if he could feel my touch.

"We don't have to do anything" I murmured quietly.

"I would if it wasn't for this. I would love to wake up and be able to kiss you every day, make love to you properly…"

"Well we still could…" I said getting the feeling he wanted this either way, he was a man after all. I suddenly got a flashback of that party at Bruce Wayne's apartment.

"No, that would be selfish on my part…I want to kiss you, be physically close and this mask keeps you at a distance" he growled.

That I have never heard before, definitely a first on me and definitely not something I've ever heard at any parties I've been at or from any man I've ever been with.

"I thought you said people are inherently selfish" I smiled.

"This is true little one. Maybe it depends on the situation" I could tell by his eyes that he was smiling under that mask. I also would have thought in a situation like this selfishness would have taken over considering what he's getting out of it but Bane was different to other men, not that I needed reminding of that fact.

* * *

Silence followed our little joke but it wasn't an awkward silence. His show stopping eyes bore into mine for what seemed like forever; but I couldn't take my eyes off his. I didn't even want to blink in case I missed something. His eyes had this amazing glaze over them which I haven't seen in anyone before. They were full of passion, fire and yet equally filled with mistrust, hurt and love.

"Your eyes are perfect, did you know that?" I couldn't help myself I had to say it.

"But my mask…"

"Doesn't matter, just makes me notice your eyes more"

He brought his head down and rested it on my chest.

"Little one, your heart is racing"

I reached up and kissed the top of his head while my hand ran along the long bumpy line from the top of his neck and down his back. I felt goose bumps rise on his skin under the tips of my fingers and then I felt a drop of water soak into my chest and I realised it came from Bane's perfect eyes.

"Little one?"

"Yea?"

"Does the man I took you from make your heart race like that?"

For once I didn't actually know what to say. After defending John for so long since I got here, constantly having to prove that he cares and is coming for me and I realised I was working hard to convince Bane and to convince myself. The fact of the matter was John hadn't found me yet. Now, I have no idea what is going on outside this sewer but if he really cared as much as he claimed to he would have found me especially since Bane is who he's looking for as well. Bane was right about that, if nothing else.

"Little one…" he pressed.

"No, no he doesn't"

He exhaled heavily and then pushed himself up on his hands his flawless eyes staring into my own once again.

"Does Talia's touch give you goose bumps like that?"

"No, not at all" he immediately said his brow knitting together slightly.

I nodded slightly and ran my hand over his head outlining the mask with my fingertip.

"I have some business to attend to and I will be gone for 3 days…you can stay here if you wish but I am quite aware you don't like being on your own for some reason and I wouldn't want you to stay here if you will be frightened and uncomfortable, the choice is yours"

"I'll go with you" I said almost immediately. The idea of being left on my own here for 3 days was unbearable to even think about and then I knew I would miss Bane as well.

"Very good, I won't leave you on your own on this business trip I promise"

I nodded as he rolled off and lay beside me still only staying inches from my body. He pushed my hair behind my ear and then I watched as he fell into a deep sleep before I followed suit.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving :) Here's a new chapter. O listening to Ellie Goulding Figure 8 while writing this, just in case you wanted to listen to it while reading, choice is there :) Not a big chapter but next one will be ;) So see you guys next chapter :)**

**-Sailor**

The next day I woke up on my own with the sheet lightly covering me, my overalls making me sweat lightly. I got up and rubbed my eyes when Bane appeared from a door. He wore what looked like a pair of overalls but also wore a black jacket over it.

"We'll be leaving soon" he said gathering stuff.

"Where are we going?"

I can't believe I forgot to ask that when he originally came at me with this idea.

"To a more ancient part of the world"

"And what's there?"

"Home"

"What?"

"You will see little one…just do all necessary provisions now, the bathroom is free for you to use"

"Ok…Bane when are the trials going to start?"

"Soon, don't worry I will let you know in good time. Right now everything just needs to be…taken care of before you and your skills are necessary. I have your suit prepared"

Oh yea my suit, I actually forgot about that.

He knelt down and opened a small press taking out a new pair of overalls and putting them on the bed next to me.

"I will have the others cleaned for you"

I would love to know who actually does the laundry here, he seems to change clothes quite a lot but I suppose that was a question for another day. He walked with me into the bathroom and ran the water for me again, like he always seem to do and left. I took off my overalls in the bathroom and threw them out through the little gap through the door. I took a quick bath because I honestly felt rotten after waking up in those overalls and I put on the new ones he gave me. They were pretty much the same except they had what looked like knee pads attached to them.

"What's with the knee pads?" I said stepping out of the bathroom.

"You'll know it when it happens" he said looking up at me from what looked like a safe under his bed.

"When are we going?"

"Now" he said straightening back up.

"Like right now?"

"Yes I was waiting for you for wake and dress etcetera"

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

I didn't actually know what time it was it could have been stupidly early anyway but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say.

"Don't worry child, we're not in any hurry. If I tell my men they have to wait, they wait, simple. Or they get a bullet in their head. So they waited" he said as if it was the most obvious reaction in the world.

"Em…ok" I said not really sure how to respond to that.

* * *

We emerged from the sewers via a long time walking, a long elevator ride and yet more walking. When we eventually reached the surface, the fresh air stung my lungs and the mid-morning sunshine blinded my sensitive eyes. I was so used to darkness and artificial light it took me a few minutes to grow accustomed to it. It didn't seem to bother Bane at all though. Gotham looked different I must admit, the air of fear seemed to be greater and more obvious. There was no one on the street we were on though, everywhere looked deserted. We were only on the street for a few minutes before I was put in a van squished between Bane and the driver. The whole trip everyone was deathly silent. As we drove further into Gotham I noticed there were a few more people, going to work and the like but everyone had this look of constant worry. It was more prevalent than before. I felt something inside me jump slightly when we drove past my old office. I saw the main man's secretary walking through the large glass double doors with two coffees in hand; one for her and one for the boss. I leaned slightly towards the window to see if I could see anyone else but Bane simply looked out the window then pulled me back tucking me back under his arm. My lip twitched watching my office disappear; everyone seemed to be getting on fine without me. I did miss my old life I must admit and thinking about it I could feel myself welling up as much as I didn't want to. Bane's hand that was draped across my shoulder came up and caressed my cheek, his curled little finger rubbing over my cheek bone. I glanced over at him but he was just merely staring out the window as the city was left behind in the rear-view mirror.

* * *

When the van eventually stopped, I looked around and saw we were at what looked like a military airport or something along those lines. A small plane sat on the runway obviously waiting for us. Ok this place really was far away.

"Boss, what will we do with the…cargo?" the driver suddenly smirked. I suddenly got a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"The cargo goes in the hold…"

The driver nodded and stepped out of the van.

"You're not talking about me are you?"

Bane turned and looked at me as if I was joking and he just didn't get it.

"No little one…we have some cargo that needs to be dropped off"

Ok I still had no idea what he was talking about but as long as I wasn't getting dumped in the hold I was fine with it. Like I said earlier, I'm a total weasel. Bane got out first, turned around and offered his hand to help me out of the van.

"Stay here" he said as he closed the van door.

He walked to the other two vans that were behind us and spoke to his men in a group. I didn't see any cargo but maybe it was in the boot or something. He strode back over to me and walked me to the plane. We got in and sat down. He told me that he just had to make sure the cargo got on ok and he'd be back in a few minutes. I felt slightly uneasy being left alone again but I kept reminding myself he'd be back in a few minutes. From the other end of the plane I noticed a guy get on, he looked like one of his men. I got a slightly unsettling feeling in my stomach as I made eye contact with him. I was willing Bane to come back. I craned my neck towards the front where Bane had left waiting to see him walk in so my mind could be put to ease.

"Do you need anything?" I suddenly heard from behind me.

I jumped yelling slightly and he backed away from me.

"What?" I gasped.

"Do you need anything?"

"No, no, no I don't" I stuttered.

Then I heard booming footsteps coming up the steel staircase and Bane emerged looking at me clearly panic stricken.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing boss, I just asked her if she needed something and she got a fright I think" he said quickly.

He looked to me obviously waiting for my side of the story.

"Yea, no, that's what happened. I just got a fright that's all"

"Are you sure?"

"Yea it's just me being a girl"

"Get out" he sneered to the guy. He immediately ran out the other side of the plane. So there obviously is a serious threat of death working for Bane.

"What is this deal you have about being left alone?" he said taking the seat next to me.

"O it's nothing really…" I lied.

"Really? Seems pretty serious, I can't leave you alone for two minutes" he said glancing around making sure no one else was coming or going.

"It's just something that happened when I was a kid that's all"

"What?"

I stayed silent for as long as I could. I thought maybe he would have given up and realised I wasn't going to tell him but he kept his eye contact with me waiting for me to answer.

"When I was a kid about 12…my mother left me to stay with my aunty for a week while she went on a holiday with my "uncle" Paul in Budapest. Now my aunty was a great woman, she took great care of me. It was her 16 year old son that was the problem…"

He nodded along listening but not interrupting. I had never talked about this before and it was killing me remembering it.

"He never had any time for me, I don't know why, as I've grown up I've questioned why he actually did it…" I found myself realising how stupid it actually sounds. "He led me down into the basement telling me there was a surprise for me. As soon as I was down in the basement fully he turned, ran and locked the door. I was locked in a dark, dank basement for over 6 hours and it was the worse experience of my life…I know it sounds stupid now I'm a grown woman but ever since that, being left alone for any long period of time is my worst nightmare. It was only when she came home from work and found me huddled beside a box…"

"That's not stupid…" he said.

"That basement…it still gives me the shivers"

He came over and sat in the seat beside me pulling me into a close hug.

"Well I won't leave you alone again, not even for two minutes. I understand more than anyone else how traumatic childhood experiences can be" he whispered, his robotic voice reverting off my eardrum.

I pushed myself fully into his hold, breathing a sigh of relief.

It's funny; I've never told John that story.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, I do love hearing what people are thinking! So here's a new chapter hope you guys like it :)**

**-Sailor**

When they eventually got whatever cargo they were referring to onto the plane, some of the men that travelled with us in the van took their seats scattered around the plane. It was only a small plane so there were only a few seats with plenty of leg room though. I noticed they all created like a radius around me, not even looking at me at all through the flight. Bane sat beside me but never looking at me, his eyes stared straight forward occasionally glancing around at his men. I let my head fall back on the headrest staring out the window.

"You should sleep…we still have a few more hours to go" spoke Bane.

"Yea…I just want to go to the bathroom first"

He nodded and got up. There was no need, there was plenty of room for me to walk past but I walked out with him hot on my heels until he reached the back of the plane. He opened the door and I stepped in. All I really wanted to do was splash some water on my face to be honest, flying always made me feel really grubby even if I've showered that morning. After a few minutes I opened the door and was met with Bane's enormous back.

"Oh" I said slightly startled. I wasn't expecting him to be right outside.

"Are you ok?" he said turning around.

"Yea I just didn't think you were going to be standing right outside the door is all"

"Are you done?"

"Yea"

"Ok, you should sleep"

"Ah I'm ok I can't really sleep sitting down anyway" I said rubbing my eyes.

Bane stepped forward towards the main body of the plane and took down something that was leaning against the back wall. It was like a small, single pull out bed; he straightened it up and pulled out a blanket from under it.

"You may sleep here"

I looked around, it was at the very back of the plane and there was no one sitting in the 2 rows in front of it. I crawled onto it as he reached over and pulled down the blind on the window.

"No movement little one…I'll be right here" he said pointing to a fold down seat that was directly opposite the bed.

I lay down and tried to get comfortable but it reminded me when I was younger and I went to a music festival and tried to sleep in the tent, it was impossible. I closed my eyes but I knew it was going to be too noisy for me to sleep. I heard some whispering coming from where Bane was sitting but I decided not to look up since he thought I was already asleep.

"Boss, the cargo is starting to stir…"

"Well what are you telling me this for? Do something about it"

"Boss…we might need you to come down to the hold"

"I can't"

"But…you're not…busy" he swallowed hard.

The silence was deafening for what seemed like forever until I heard Bane breathe heavily through his mask.

"I am busy, busy making sure you scumbags are kept in line…"

"She's asleep…" he said laughing nervously.

"She doesn't like being left alone"

"She's…"

"She's not being left alone"

"But…"

But then I heard the sound of someone like gasping for breath.

"Just go sort out that little problem you absolute waste of space"

I then heard a slight thud and fast paced footsteps. I took this as an opportunity to move my position since I was getting a dead arm from lying on it for so long. I turned to lie on my back with my two arms outstretched, my hands falling over the frame. After a few more minutes I felt someone else approaching.

"Boss…they need you down in the hold"

"For what?"

"The cargo…it's not settling"

I heard Bane get up sighing angrily. My brow knitted together knowing he was leaving, again.

"I can watch her" the other guy said.

What did he mean the cargo wasn't settling? But just as I was going through the possibilities I heard Bane's loud footsteps fading as he walked away. I opened my eyes slightly to see my new guard settling himself in the seat where Bane was a few minutes ago. I opened them fully and the guy stopped moving altogether.

"Don't scream. He'll be back in a few minutes"

I sat up slightly and I knew that made him uncomfortable. But I didn't feel as uneasy since he was sitting there even though I didn't trust him at all.

"How much longer will this flight be?"

"Look, lie back down and go to sleep please or at least pretend because it's gonna be my head on the block"

I nodded and turned away from him, closing my eyes once again. But this time I actually managed to fall asleep once I heard his heavily footfall return after a few more minutes.

* * *

When we eventually landed, I was woken by Bane and brought out first before anyone else. The first thing that hit me when the doors of the plane opened was the scorching, choking heat that hit me right in the face from the outset. It was like we were in the middle of a desert. I found it hard to breathe as I was escorted to a waiting van and placed inside followed by Bane. I felt something heavy being chucked into the back of the van and we were on our way. We drove for about another hour and then suddenly stopped. The door of the van was thrown open by Bane and I was brought out. It was only now did I see what cargo they were talking about. Two men dragged a limp, lifeless body towards what looked like a large well in the centre of this barren desert. We walked along the uneven ground a bit behind the body that was being dragged as Bane kept a firm hand on my back guiding me along. But then I got caught on a rock and fell onto my knees in the dust, my hand getting caught on a sharp stone and creating a massive cut.

"See knee pads are necessary" he said helping me up. I felt the dirt and dust mix with the blood that was flowing out of my cut. I wiped it and we kept walking even though it was bleeding heavily. Bane stopped me just as they began lowering the body into the well like structure.

"Let me see your hand" he said taking it in his own. He ripped off some of my sleeve and wrapped it tightly around my injured hand.

"We better keep it taped up…they can smell it" he said his eyes hitting mine.

"Who?"

But before he could answer my question he was pulling me towards the pit and helping tie a rope around my waist. He watched as I was lowered into the pit and I could hear people chanting from below which made me feel ill. It was like the basement all over again. One of his guys put me standing against the wall while Bane made his own way down. It was only now I got to see the face of the cargo. It was Bruce Wayne. I thought I had heard him wrong when he said that during the fight but obviously I was wrong. He lay unconscious on the ground guarded by two men. I instinctively went over to him to see if he was ok. The two guys twitched slowly but knew better than to stop me. I knelt down and rubbed my fingers through his brown hair, down along his cheek but got no response.

"Bruce" I whispered. He didn't look himself at all, his stubble had grown out and he had a huge cut over his eye. It wasn't the billionaire playboy I had tried to seduce only a few years previous. He looked older but not well aged, more haggard.

"Little one" called Bane looking over at me as he got to the bottom of the pit. I glanced over my shoulder at him but didn't budge. I couldn't leave Bruce here like this.

"Little one" he urged again coming over and holding me by my shoulders trying to lift me up.

"Bane…you can't kill him" I whispered.

He picked me up and brought me over to the other side of the pit as his men took Bruce under each arm and brought him to a cage.

"You know Bruce Wayne" he said holding onto my shoulders and looking me dead in the eye.

"Yes…I mean I moved in the same circles as him…but I didn't know he was…that"

His brows knitted together and he got that look of utter disgust in his eyes. "You and Bruce Wayne"

"No, no" I figured this wouldn't be the best time to admit that I was so close to actually getting with him I could smell it and it was all I ever wanted for years. His eyes looked between mine before walking away bringing me with him towards where they threw Bruce Wayne's lifeless body.

I stood on the outside of the cage occasionally glancing down at the men below me who looked up at me with hungry eyes.

"Put him on the bed" Bane ordered.

His body was thrown onto a camp bed and I finally saw some life come back into him. Bane sat at the edge of the bed staring down at him as his eyes opened slowly but then closed.

"Why…why didn't you just kill me?" I heard Bruce finally croak. It felt good hearing his voice again.

"You don't fear death…you welcome it…your punishment must be more severe"

"Tor…torture"

"Yes, but not of your body…of your soul"

"Where…where are we?"

"Home! Where I learned the truth about despair…as will you. There's a reason why this prison is worst hell on earth…hope. Every man who has been here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom…so easy…so simple. I've watched men turn to sea water from uncontrollable thirst. Many have died trying and around here there cannot be any true despair without hope. So as I terrorise Gotham I will feed its people hope to poison their souls. I will let them believe that they can survive so you can watch them clambering over each other to stay in the sun! You can watch me torture an entire city and when it is done and you've truly understood the depth of your failure we will fulfil Ra's Al Ghul's destiny."

I watched Bruce Wayne's breath quicken as he listened to Bane's plan to destroy the whole city his parents had helped create and he was for once powerless to stop it. I was beginning to regret my decision to come here.

"And then when it is done…and Gotham is…ashes!"

There was a long pause as I moved closer to the bars catching Bane's attention before turning back to Bruce.

"Then you have my permission to die"

Bane pushed himself up using Bruce's chest and I just remembered his back as his shrieks of pain rang out in the cell. He strode towards me leaving Bruce there in agony.

"Bane" I whispered. "Can I please talk to him?"

He looked back between me and Bruce before pushing me slightly away from the view of any of his men or Bruce.

"No little one…Bruce Wayne has interfered enough in my life already without you getting involved with him"

"I just…"

"No!"

It was the first time Bane had raised his voice to me like that. He used such a vicious tone that it even caused a short silence between the men that were still in the cage with Bruce. He shook his head from side to side before going back over to the cage and looking in.

"Lock it up" he ordered.

He walked back over to me and pushed me towards the huge pit and wrapped a rope around my waist before wrapping the same one around his waist. I was, in effective, tied to him. He jumped onto the ledge and started the climb out of the pit with me securely bound to his body.


	15. Chapter 15

**New chapter for you guys! Hope you like it and sure throw an aule review or something I do love reading them :) Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing I love you all! xo**

**-Sailor**

He untied me when we reached the surface but said nothing. He just grabbed my arm leading me over to the van before lifting me into the seat and hopping in beside me.

"Bane…I just want to see someone who I knew from my past…"

His brow clenched together but he didn't say anything. I saw the guys emerging from the pit but none of them approached the van we were in.

"Why Bruce Wayne…"

"There was nothing…"

"Why is it always Bruce Wayne?"

"What?"

His eyes closed, his head shaking from side to side. "Even with Talia…it was Bruce Wayne…" he said sounding like it was coming out through gritted teeth.

"Bane…I had nothing to do with Bruce Wayne…I didn't even know he was the Batman. He was just someone who I had in my life before…before well this new life…and it would have been nice to talk to him that's all"

"Why?" he said turning his head towards me.

"I don't know…"

Which is true, I actually didn't know what I would have said to him but just seeing him that way, just brought back those flashbacks of my old life and I felt like I was obligated to see him.

Before I got a chance to get my thoughts together, Bane grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the seat. There was another van, a commercial van with no back seats or windows parked behind the one I was just in. He pulled me along his side to the van before dragging the door back.

"Bane…" I said panic starting to rise in my stomach. "You're not gonna lock me in there are you?! It's dark and…"

I felt my breath catch in my throat and I tried to pull away from his grip. Darkness filled the body of the van before he hauled me up into it.

"Bane! You said you weren't gonna leave me alone! After everything I told you!" I pleaded as his hand grabbed the handle.

"It'll only be for a few minutes little one…just have to make sure Bruce Wayne is comfortable" he said but it wasn't in the usual caring tone he used with me. He slammed the door and I heard it lock immediately. I scrambled over clawing at the door feeling fear bubbling up through me.

"BANE! BANE!" I screamed but I knew it was falling on deaf ears. "BANE!"

After a few minutes of screaming and banging on the sides of the van, I knew he wasn't coming back anytime soon. I crawled into the corner trying to control my breathing, gripping my head in my hands. I can't believe Bane had done this considering I had only told him my reasoning for not liking being left on my own. I rested my forehead on my knees; my eyes clenched together trying to calm myself down. I was so frightened I couldn't even feel the tears flowing down my face. After a few more minutes I heard some mumbling going on outside. I crawled to the door and knocked. I heard their conversation stop so I knocked again.

"Please…open the door" I pleaded.

I heard nothing else for a few seconds then I saw the handle move and the door was unlocked. My shaky hand grabbed it and flung it open, falling out onto the ground breathing the fresh air. Two guys stood over me smoking looking quite dazed at what was happening.

"Why were you locked in there?"

"Doesn't sound like Bane…" the other muttered.

"He locked me in there…I don't know why" I gasped.

"Oh shit! We let her out…"

They both looked at each other with dread in their eyes.

"We're gonna have to lock you back up" one said reaching down and picking me up.

"Please don't…where is Bane?"

"We don't know, he took the van and left"

The fresh air felt so good in my lungs along with the wide open space.

"Look…we gotta get you locked back up" said the other one getting more nervous by the second.

"I'll make you a deal" I said my voice beginning to steady. "If you two bring me down to see Bruce Wayne and don't tell Bane I'll stay in the van willingly until Bane gets back" I said leaning against the door of the van.

"Otherwise what?"

"I'll tell Bane what you did…and another few lies I can plant in his mind that'll mean he'll rip your head clean off your body"

They both looked at each other knowing the better option for both of them.

"Ok but only a few minutes with him…" one said shuffling in his body vest. "Coz if Bane comes back…"

"Ok a few minutes I promise"

They walked me over to the pit, both constantly looking over their shoulder. One wrapped a rope around his waist and went down before me before the other one wrapped a rope around me and lead me down.

* * *

They both walked me over to the cage keeping watch to make sure no one came up from the centre of the pit. They got the guy at the cage door to unlock it giving them the gist of what was going on. He pulled back the door and I stepped in. Bruce looked up at me then had to look again.

"Jennifer?" he said. Clearly I was the last person he was expecting to see and I can understand why.

"You remember me yea?" I said kneeling down at his head.

"Yea I do…but what are you doing here?"

Clearly putting me and Bane together wasn't the first thing that came into his head.

"It's Bane…" I shrugged.

"What?" he croaked.

"He kinda took me…"

I really had no other way to describe it.

"What? Why would he do that? What use are you to him?"

"Apparently courts are being started and I'm going to be acting on behalf of his state"

"Oh my God" he sighed.

"Yea, it's pretty bad" I don't know why I said that, it just seemed like the thing to say. "Bruce…what's gonna happen?"

"I don't know…I'm in a bad way" he said trying to move but the pain taking over fully. "He seems…he seems to have no weaknesses" he sighed. "When I fought him…it was like fighting a brick wall…If I'm going to fix this…I need to approach it differently…"

I looked down at the ground not knowing what to say. Images of Bane collapsing against the table in front of me in pain while his mask sat on table flashed in my mind, then his kiss…his amazing kiss. I shook my head from side to side resting my hand on Bruce's.

"Psst" I heard one of the guys from outside say.

"I have to go" I said getting up still not making eye contact.

I felt him grab my hand pulling me down to look at him. "I'll make sure to come get you as soon as I'm back in Gotham. Does he have anyone else?"

"No, just me as far as I know"

"Well sit tight I'll come get you"

"Yea please do" I lied.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you or anyone to sit there and rot under this psychopath"

"I have to go…" I said kissing his head lightly before turning to leave.

They locked the door back up and I was hoisted out of the pit and put back in the van. The panic rose inside me as they locked the door and their voices faded into the distance. I took my place back in the corner and clenched my eyes shut waiting for Bane.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello my lovely readers! So new chapter, hope you enjoy it and as always thank you to everyone who is reading it and reviewing, makes me very very happy :D So here we go enjoy! **

**-Sailor**

After what seemed like a lifetime later he finally arrived back. The door swung open flooding my prison with light again, making my eyes wince. I lay with my knees tucked up under my chest but I didn't make any effort to move. He reached in and pulled me towards him before lifting me out. He held me against his chest while he walked over to another van. He placed me in on the back seats and I lay in the same position. He sat in beside me but I didn't bother to look at him. That was a really scummy thing he did on me, even though it gave me a chance to talk to Bruce but I wasn't about to let him know that.

Obviously realising I wasn't going to speak to him, he jumped back out and back into the driver's seat. He started the engine and did a full 360 turn and started driving.

I was beginning to feel sick; the anger, tension, fear and heat mixing together in my stomach in a disgusting knot. I glanced up at the window and saw the dust roll by before looking back at the seat. Then I felt a gush of cold air on my face. He had switched on the air conditioning and thank god because I was thirty seconds away from passing out.

"Where are we going?"

"You need to eat"

"No I don't" I said even though I knew I had to.

"Yes you do…" he said his hand coming back from the driver's seat and grabbing my wrist between his fingers. "You're severely dehydrated as well"

I couldn't really deny that he could feel my slow pulse from lack of hydration.

* * *

He killed the engine and looked around at me. "Are you ok to walk little one?"

"Why did you lock me in there?"

"I apologise"

"After what I just told you!"

"I know…"

"Then why did you do it?"

"I had something to do…"

"I could have come with you"

"No you couldn't have…I had to see Talia" he said breaking his eye contact.

"So you locked me in a van. I would have stayed put if you had of asked"

"Just you and Wayne…"

I rolled my eyes and sighed not wanting to get into this argument again. He got out of the driver seat and opened the door for me. A small stone house stood in the middle of what looked like an abandoned town. He walked with me to the door, bent down to walk in while I followed. He took a glass off the shelf and filled it from the tap. I sat on one of the small wooden chairs as he put the glass on the table.

"Drink that" he ordered.

I took it up and gulped it down, all the time his eyes not leaving me. When I set down the empty glass he filled it up again and sat in the seat opposite me. His eyes flicked to the water I knew he wanted me to drink it. I drank it down as he stared at his hands.

"How's Talia?" I piped finishing off the water.

He shrugged his huge shoulders but didn't look up at me. "Consumed by this whole thing"

"I suppose telling her about me is not a good idea"

"No…not yet"

"But you still didn't have to lock me in a van"

"I know…don't worry though we'll be leaving tomorrow"

"That soon?"

"Yes, I want to get you back home"

It was weird hearing him refer to that place as home.

"You may sleep here" he said pointing to a room at the end of the kitchen.

"Are you staying here?"

"Yes I won't leave"

"I've heard you say that before…" I sighed.

"I'm sorry!" he suddenly exploded shaking his head. "Go lie down!" he said pointing to the room.

I got up and walked down, pushed the door open and slammed it shut again. I lay down on the bed but couldn't sleep because of the excruciating heat. I began to wonder if not telling Bruce what I knew about Bane was such a good idea.

* * *

After about an hour, I lay there still not asleep but I saw the door creep open and Bane's head pop around.

"Why are you not asleep?" he mumbled.

"I slept enough on the plane"

He came fully in and closed the door behind him.

"Bane…"

He sat on the edge of the small bed brushing the dust off his knee pads.

"What little one?"

"What exactly is the grand plan she has for Gotham?"

"I can't tell you" he said almost immediately.

"Why not?"

"I just can't"

"Ok…" I sighed. "Is anyone going to be spared?" I said immediately thinking of John.

He turned his head slowly to look at me. "Who is worthy?" he said his forehead knitting together. I shook my head pretending I didn't mean anyone but he's not stupid.

"The man I took you from?"

"I didn't say that"

"If he gets in the way, he will not be spared"

He's a police officer…of course he's going to get in the way, and it made me wonder if he secretly knew that.

* * *

The next day I was woken up and brought to the plane and we started the long journey home. Eventually, we arrived back in Gotham. I got squished into the van but Bane leaned across to say something to the driver.

"Bring us to the courthouse"

"What?"

"I'm going to show you where, together, we will administer justice equally. Their guilt will have already been determined…"

"Then why am I here? That'll just be a sentencing period" I said cutting across him.

"What they have done…it must be brought out in public and they must be humiliated like every other person has been put through the process and you will put forward your idea of an appropriate sentence. You know what you're talking about; this is why I need you"

I rubbed my eyes and sighed heavily.

"Little one…what is it?"

"I want to go home!" I snapped.

I saw the driver shift his gaze for a few seconds before returning to the road.

"What?" he said, his eyes looking between mine.

"I…I want to go home" I sighed.

He faced forward again but then gestured for the driver to pull in. He stopped the car at the side of the road before he hopped out obviously knowing what Bane meant before he said it. Bane turned around to me and rested his hand menacingly on my shoulder while the other one grasped my neck.

"I thought we already discussed this"

"No you discussed it!"

I have no idea what came over me, I just had to get this off my chest. I'm normally a very passive person in my personal life because in my professional life I'm so used to being loud and aggressive. So I made a point to make sure I wouldn't be like that around the people I care about because I'd be left with no one. But locking me in that van just triggered something inside me, and I snapped.

"You discussed it and it didn't matter what my opinion was!"

"So you would rather go back to that dead end life with a man who does not really love you and be part of society that will soon be burned to the ground?"

"Yes!" I affirmed even though a small part of me didn't really want that. But I wasn't listening to that part of my mind right now.

He swiftly wrapped his hands around my neck making me fall back as I struggled to breathe.

"I'm not letting you go" he said scornfully through his mask.

But just as quick as he grabbed me, he let go and sat back his eyes clamped together, breathing heavily. He pulled himself into the driver's seat and continued driving.

I sat up in the passenger seat and scooted over to the window as far as way from him as possible. We pulled up outside a huge building that looked like it had been abandoned years ago. He got out of the car and stormed around opening my door. He offered his giant paw to help me out but I pushed past it jumping out on my own. He put his hand on my back leading me in through the massive, oak double doors. We walked through the main hall, my shoes slipping on the marble floors until we got to the main room. The hall opened up into a gigantic room with a massive window down the very back looking over Gotham. Stacks of papers and files sat around a huge desk that reached almost as high as the ceiling. A smaller desk sat opposite the main one and a single chair sat in the centre of the floor.

"This is it! This is where the rich will be given their ultimatum, death or exile. Everything they hold dear to them will be ripped from their fingers and enjoyed by those who they have looked down upon and ignored. Parasites that lived off the blood and sweat of others 'the little people' the little people who put them where they are today, will finally be dealt with!"

"Bane!" I suddenly heard someone call from behind us. I swung around and saw a man, a lot smaller than Bane with some slight stubble and glasses wearing a tattered old suit. "How are you my friend?" he said gleefully coming up and shaking his hand. I recognised him but I couldn't remember where from.

"Dr Crane, I am good how are you?"

It was scarecrow. I thought he was locked up…I backed away slightly, fear rising inside me.

"Couldn't be better, getting everything organised"

"Very good"

Dr Crane's eyes darted to me.

"And this is?"

"She will be here working with you, she's a lawyer"

"One of the parasites…" he smirked.

"Yes but we need this one"

"Yea and after we can throw her to rot on the pile like the rest" he smiled.

I looked at Bane as his head turned from Dr Crane meeting my eyes. "I suppose we could…"

"Bane…" I started but he just turned away and walked with Dr Crane over to a pile of files. They mumbled to each other for a couple of minutes while I looked around at what was going to be my new work environment.

"Come little one!" I suddenly heard Bane boom walking towards the door once again. "The Gotham City Rogues are playing today and I would like to get a good seat" he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls.

I jogged to catch up with his huge footsteps as Dr Crane's malevolent laugh bounced off the walls after us.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! Welcome to my new followers and readers :D Hope everything is well and I hope you enjoy this chapter :) xoxo**

**-Sailor**

Bane threw me into the back seat of the van and then sat in the front himself. This was the first time he did that; he normally puts me in beside him. I sat up looking out the window while he talked to the driver.

"Is everything in place?"

"Yes Boss"

"Did you track down that cop?"

"Blake?"

My ears pricked up as I leaned forward ever so slightly so hear more clearly.

"No…we have word he's sniffing around the yard and killed one of our guys, don't think he's figured it out though…"

"Did he talk?"

"No"

"It doesn't matter anyway…he can't stop us, it's too late"

"Bane?"

"Yes little one?"

"Has someone figured out your plan?"

"The cop? Don't worry child, he won't mess with our plans" he said turning his head to look at me.

It was odd, when he mentioned John's name this time, I didn't get that usual twitch and hollow feeling in my stomach.

As we drove, I noticed a constant grey cloud lurking over the entire city. Everyone wore a look of worry and fear on their gaunt faces. There was an air of stress and anxiety following everyone around. People didn't speak to each other, just walked with their heads down. The only people who didn't look like walking zombies were the football fans from the opposing team. We parked in the shadow of the stadium as people walked through the entrances. We stayed in the car until a majority of people had dispersed from the streets. Bane indicated to the driver to get out and he obliged without a fuss. He threw on his big, sheep skin coat with fur collar pulling it around him. Bane stepped out and pulled my door open, sitting in. He pushed up beside me wrapping his arm around my headrest looking straight forward. The silence was deafening but the guilt over what I had said to him was creeping up on me.

As I said earlier, I try to not be aggressive with people in my personal like that I care about because I know it will push them away and I'll be left with no one.

"Bane, I am sorry for what I said earlier, I didn't mean it"

"You think what you said hurt me?"

"No, I don't think that…I've just been feeling bad for what I said"

He chuckled to himself putting his hand on my knee.

"What's so funny?"

"You feel guilty for expressing your opinion. For someone in such a demanding, hostile job environment you really are a fragile person"

"No it's only in my personal life I'm like this, don't worry I take my career very seriously" I said as if I felt the need to let him know I wasn't going to be a little wimp in court.

"I don't doubt that child. But see you have real, pure emotion in your heart which I love"

"Well I just wanted to tell you I didn't mean what I said"

"You don't want to go back to your old life?" he asked looking me dead in the eye.

I swallowed heavily, feeling myself being torn between my answers.

"I don't think so"

He leaned in so his face was just inches from mine, his cold metal mask touching off my nose and mouth while his eyes stared straight into mine.

"Think?"

"I…I definitely don't want to"

He closed his eyes, moving his head so his cheek was resting against my nose, letting out a sigh through his mask.

"Little one…I can't let you go"

"I'm not going anywhere"

He looked into my eyes and I knew this would be the time where he would kiss me…but the mask.

"I'm working on it" he whispered.

"Working on what?" I said rubbing his cheek.

"A way to survive certain periods of time without the mask"

"How?"

He leaned up and stretched into front seat opening the glove compartment and whipping out a black case. He sat back beside me and unzipped the case revealing a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

"Is it venom?"

"No…injecting venom into my body does nothing…it's only when I inhale it as a gas does it take its effect. But I have people working on this experimental drug that harnesses that power and will keep the effects at bay for a while so I can survive without the mask" he said running his finger over the sliver needle.

"Is it safe?"

"Right now tests are still being run…this is a trial sample. The effects will only last for a few minutes"

He handed me over the box and I didn't know what to do.

"You want me to do it? As in now?"

"Yes" he said slipping his arm out of his jacket.

"Oh God, I don't really…"

But before I could protest further, his massive hand guided mine taking the needle from the hard foam that surrounded it.

"Is this safe?" I asked again. I couldn't get it around my head since he said this was just a sample.

"It can't make the pain worse" he stated simply.

I took it between my fingers as he pushed his massive muscle laden arm to me. He trusted me giving him this shot? Another opportunity where I could seriously injure or kill him, but I didn't. I took his arm and pushed the needle slowly into his flesh before pushing down the top until it emptied. I took it back out and watched his eyes close. I wasn't entirely sure what it looked like if it was working or not. He took in one huge breath then unclipped the back of his mask letting it slip off slowly. Except this time, his face didn't contort in pain. His eyebrows relaxed, his head fell back and he opened his mouth wide taking a huge breath into his system.

"Did it work?"

"It did" he said reaching up and running his hands over his mouth. "I haven't done that in a long time"

I reached out and touched his cheek as his head turned to look at me. He smiled and I noticed his lower teeth were slightly crooked. He leaned over and bent his head towards mine as he did a few moments ago, except this time his face was inches from mine and not just the mask. His lips brushed off mine as he threw his mask to one side.

"There's no pain is there?" I whispered.

"No…" he whispered leaning in again and kissing me deeper this time. I felt his breath from his nose as his tongue darted around my mouth. I pushed him back climbing on top of him to which I saw his eyes widen.

"I thought you were only aggressive in your professional life" he smiled.

For a man who is planning on destroying a whole city, his smile brought a smile to my face. It was so warm and inviting. I kissed him again running my hands under his neck. I felt him groan underneath me and his hands ran over the lower part of my back.

"This is the closeness I crave…" he whispered as I broke away for breath.

"Me too" I whispered back. As much as I loved John, I don't remember ever feeling like this about him…sharing this closeness, even if it was only for a few minutes.

"Little one…I can't let you go"

"I don't want to go" I said kissing every area around his mouth that I knew I wouldn't see for a long time when this wears off.

"It's weird…feeling your lips on my face…"

He reached up and kissed me again and I suddenly felt that urge. The urge I knew he felt too. I unzipped my overalls and watched as his eyes followed my hands down. I pushed my chest together as his eyes widened. His hands reached up and one finger felt down the middle of my chest. I leaned down slowly lightly placing my lips on his lips, my eyes still watching his. But then his eyes closed in an all too familiar way and I suddenly felt his teeth bite down hard on my lip. I sat back feeling the blood gushing from my lip as he reached down under the seat searching, panic stricken, looking for his mask. Once his hand found the mask and held it up taking a few breaths he looked over to me. I sat clutching my lip as he clipped his mask fully back on.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea…" I mumbled licking the blood.

"I apologise profusely"

"It's ok…it'll stop in a minute" I said patting it occasionally seeing how much was actually coming out. It slowed down significantly but I could feel it still burning with pain. His shaky hand reached up and touched my face.

"I'm sorry"

"It's ok…you said it only lasted a few minutes" I half smiled.

Then I heard three loud knocks on the back window of the van. Bane looked around and breathed in deep to compose himself. He gestured out the window. Immediately a new driver hopped in the front seat.

"Little one…I have to leave you here for a moment"

He must have seen the panic in my eyes because he immediately grabbed my face to look at him.

"I promise I won't be but 10 minutes…and one of my men will stay in the car, in the driver's seat though" he said his eyes darting towards him.

"Why can't I come with you?"

"It's just…not a situation I want you to be in"

"But everything else…"

"Yea but not this"

"So you'll go in there and come straight back out?"

"Yea…but I'm going to get him to drive you a bit away from here"

"But not far?"

"No, not far" he said running his hands down my hair.

I inhaled deeply and nodded. "Ok…I'll be fine, as long as you're back soon"

"I promise"

His finger moved a strand of hair that hung over my eye before he hopped out. I pressed my face against the window watching Bane as the car drove away. His eyes kept contact with mine until we went around a corner and he was gone. We parked down a long wide street and he killed the engine. I counted the seconds before Bane was back, watching out the window. The driver said nothing to me just messed with his phone, occasionally coughing or lighting a cigarette.

Around us lay building materials and slabs of concrete. There wasn't a soul to be seen. What was Bane doing in the stadium? I heard the driver exhale loudly and his head fell back onto the headrest. It looked like he was falling asleep. Great guy to leave to watch out for me…But then I saw a car pull up on the opposite side of the street. It lurched forward breaking suddenly. I saw a frazzled person in the driver seat pulling a map out over the steering wheel. The pale face I recognised, it was John.

My whole insides collapsed. I had to be imagining him there, it wasn't possible. I looked around at the driver who hadn't moved obviously after falling asleep. I pressed myself as far as I could against the glass half willing John to look at me and half not to. He looked up and caught my eye before doing a double take. All colour drained from his face as he realised I wasn't just a figment of his imagination. He got out the car and approached cautiously gesturing for me to get out. I looked back at the driver who didn't look like anything was going to wake him. I pulled the handle on the door and pushed it open gently, stepping out. A huge smile crossed John's face as he pulled me into him.

"Jen I can't believe it's you!" he gasped holding my face between his hands.

"I know" I said half-heartedly.

"C'mon" he said pulling me towards the car.

I pulled back slightly and he looked at me and furrowed his brow.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing" I said shaking my head letting him lead me into the car. I sat in the passenger seat and looked over at the van with the still sleeping driver in the front, oblivious that I had just escaped. John spoke about something or other, I wasn't really listening, all I could think about was Bane and how after I promised I wouldn't go anywhere; I had.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello my lovely readers! Hope everything is well, so here's a new chapter. Not a lot of Bane but it just shows how different Jen feels her life is now with John as opposed to the first chapter. Hope you like it. And if you want, stick a review there I do love reading what people think :) **

**-Sailor**

"I can't believe you're here!" he said his eyes still fixed on the maps. I watched the van and watched the road waiting for Bane to arrive back.

"I know…John listen…"

"Oh my God…" I heard John gasp.

"What?" I asked thinking he saw Bane.

"The concrete…the building…the cops…" he said his eyes widening as if everything was fitting into place.

He started the engine and sped off down the road away from Bane's van. We drove erratically through the streets away from the stadium. He grabbed his radio and began shouting into it as he swerved in and out of the streets. The police siren rang out loudly causing cars to move out of our direction.

"They're trapped! Pull everyone out! Bane has been lacing the concrete with explosives!"

"Where?"

"Everywhere all the cranes and building materials have been!"

"They've been working on Gotham City Stadium…" I heard the other end of the line rasp. "And they've been all around the city…how do we know where it's gonna hit?"

John glanced at the map again quickly. "There's certain spots marked…creating a ring. O Jesus…there's a ring around the tunnels they're gonna blow it and trap the cops underground!"

I watched John's panicked face and I realised how much fear Bane had instilled in people here. And for once I was scared. But not scared of Bane unlike everyone else. I was scared now that I wasn't with Bane. I realised that being with him I was in the best possible position. But now I was just another civilian out on the street I was at risk as everyone else.

Then suddenly there was an explosion on the rear left of the car. John looked around panicked and then looked to me.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea…what was that?"

I heard low rumblings coming from all directions as John pressed his foot further on the accelerator. Suddenly there were explosions from all around the car as John tried to swerve to avoid them. If I had of stayed where I was I wouldn't have been subjected to this. I could have been safe instead of here, where death was a very real possibility. Then an explosion came from right under the driver's side triggering the car to flip over eventually falling back to its original position. As the car flipped over I felt myself being thrown towards the roof viciously knocking my head against the hard surface. As the car settled back I felt a warm sensation on the top of my head running down my hairline and a serious pounding going on inside my head. I clutched it in pain and suddenly felt nauseas. The low rumblings of explosions ceased and John moved over towards me.

"Are you ok? I'm really sorry" he said holding my face in his hands.

I opened my eyes bringing my head down looking at the blood gushing from the top of my head.

"What happened to your lip?" he said his brows knitting together.

"I just bit it that's all"

He settled back into his seat taking a few minutes to compose himself after what we just went through.

"I can't believe I found you…I was beginning to think I was never going to see you again" he said kissing my sore lip.

"You didn't find me…" I mumbled. "You stumbled upon me while you were doing something else that was obviously more important"

John shot me a look of pure shock. "Jen?"

"Sorry…it's just my head…"

"I can't believe you survived so long with that monster! I've been working non-stop trying to figure out what he's been up to"

I was just about to say something but I figured it was best not to say anything to him; after all he was a cop.

"I didn't know where you had gone; it was only when we got word Bane has been seen with a brown haired accomplice that I figured it was you" he said looking me up and down. "What are you wearing?"

"This was what he gave me"

"It's…flattering" he chuckled. "You've lost weight as well" he said pulling at the baggy overalls.

"I know"

"You don't seem too keen on giving me any details" he whispered.

"It was really traumatic…I'd rather not speak about it right now" I lied.

"Ok, well I'm just glad to have you back" he said hugging me. Except it didn't give me the same feeling as it used to, or the same feeling Bane gave me even when he just touched me lightly.

"Yea…I'm glad to be back" I said meekly.

The radio suddenly sprang to life, with mumbling and shouting.

"Ok…I'm gonna drive you home and then I have to go back to the station"

He started the engine again and continued down the street that was now strewn with rubble and other overturned cars. It was only now was I seeing the devastation Bane was causing…but like he said, he was going to build it up even better than before. You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

* * *

We drove through the city, pulling up outside our old apartment block.

"I've missed having you around I gotta say…the place has been so lonely without you"

"I've missed you too" I said just to have something to say to be honest.

He smiled and got out running around the other side and opening my door, I noted he didn't offer his hand like Bane. What is wrong with me? I shouldn't be comparing him to Bane. John is a civilised, upstanding member of society, not some mercenary who is planning on destroying life as we know it. We walked into the building and up the stairs, the elevator was broken, and opened the door. It looked exactly the same as when I left that morning. John brought me into the bedroom and unzipped my overalls, taking some jammies out of the wardrobe. I quickly got changed as he fluffed the pillow and pulled back the duvet. He brought me over and lay me down on the bed.

He went back into the kitchen and came back with some bandages wrapping them around my injured head.

"I'll be back later, don't worry you're home safe now" he whispered kissing my head.

I watched as he left, closed the door gently and waited for his footsteps to fade completely before sitting up. I looked around my whole room thinking back to the day I left here and was taken by Bane. I pulled the duvet up to my chin but I didn't feel like I was home safe here. I felt awkward, you know the way you get sometimes when you're in someone's house who you don't really know and you're not sure how to act? And I shouldn't have felt like that because this is the home John and I had started to build for us and one day our children. But now it was just hollow, with no warm family sentiments whatsoever. I got up with the duvet wrapped around my shoulders and stared out the window at Bane's Gotham. Plumes of dust settled just above some buildings and holes in the ground where the explosions had gone off. I looked over to the bridges to which looked like the middle's were all blown to pieces. Obviously Bane had thought of everything. I brought a chair from the freezing living room into the bedroom and set it down in front of the window, perching myself on it. I wonder if Bane has come to realise that I'm gone yet. He probably killed the driver who fell asleep and let me escape.

I wondered if he thought I had this planned the whole time and everything else I did was just to win his trust and take advantage of that. I hoped he knew I was better than that. I should have been happy though; this was a chance to start fresh. I was given something that hardly anyone is ever given, a second chance. Then why was it that all I wanted to do was crawl back down into the sewer and lie next to Bane, breathe in his intoxicating breath and feel his heart beat as he destroyed this city and everyone in it?

* * *

I crawled back onto the bed as the evening set in and the temperature in the apartment dropped. I pulled the duvet up around me and fell into an unsettling sleep. I heard John open the door and step in, setting his cold hands on my forehead.

"Babe you awake?"

I shifted my position and opened my eyes. "Yea" I croaked.

I pushed the hair from my eye that was caught under the bandage.

"How's the head?"

"Still sore"

I could also feel my lip after swelling up twice its size.

"Your lip isn't looking too good either. How'd you manage to bite down on it so hard?"

"I don't know, it just happened"

I could see in his eyes he was slightly sceptical about what I said so I decided to change the subject.

"Has anything happened?" I said pressing for information about Bane.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Yea…he blew up the whole stadium pitch and has a nuclear bomb"

"O God…" I said trying to convey fear.

"Yea we got a tape from a fan who was taping the game, we got the whole speech"

"Have you got the tape?" I said sitting up.

"Yea…why, do you want to see it?"

"Well yea"

He shrugged his shoulders taking the DVD out of his jacket. We went into the living room and he stuck it in the machine. A blurry picture appeared, fans clapping and cheering as the first kick of the game started. But then the whole ground seemed to just collapse under them. The players disappeared as if the ground was swallowing them whole. The shaky camera fell for a second before focusing on Bane as he strode out from the underground. He zoomed in and there he was, walking out onto what was left of the pitch before grabbing a microphone off a collapsed referee.

"Gotham!" he roared. Shivers ran up and down my body hearing his voice again. I tried to hide the emotions that were bubbling over the surface in case John picked up on anything.

"Take control…take control of your city" he spoke into the microphone. Everyone in the stadium went deathly silent. Even the cameraman's breathing slowed down until I could no longer hear him.

"This…this is the instrument of your liberation" he said as one of his guys dragged a huge, round and metal explosive behind him.

Then I saw another one of his guys dragging an older man out by his jacket and throw him on the ground.

"Identify yourself to the world…"

He lowered the microphone so he could speak.

"Dr Leonard Pavel, nuclear physicist"

"And what…what is this?" asked Bane looking around the stadium.

"Fully primed neutron bomb with a blast radius of 6 miles…"

"And who is capable of disarming such a device?"

"Only me"

"Only you…" he said nodding his head. I knew by his face he had a little smile on under that mask. I had to stop myself from smiling but I was finding it difficult.

"Thank you good doctor!" he said in a positive tone of voice. Well what happened between us only a few minutes previous to this would give me a positive tone of voice too.

But then he grabbed his head like he was a doll and twisted it all the way around, his body falling back onto the ground, twitching before dying completely.

"Now…this bomb is armed…this bomb is mobile and the identity of the triggerman is a mystery…for one of you holds the detonator and we come here not as conquerors but as liberators…to return control of this city to the people…and from the first sign of interference from the outside world, or from those people attempting to flee…this anonymous Gothamite, this unsung hero…will trigger the bomb" his commanding voice told everyone. I leaned forward as the cameraman zoomed in on Bane. I couldn't ignore the pain that I got in my chest telling me that I missed Bane terribly.

"Now martial law is in effect…return to your homes, hold your families close and wait…tomorrow you claim what is rightfully yours"

He took one last look around before throwing the mic on the ground and turning to walk away, his men following. I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head at that point in time. Was he thinking whether I was ok on my own and was he rushing out to get back to me but only to find I wasn't there anymore…I was back at home, well I use that term loosely. The screen suddenly turned black and John turned to me and held me close.

"I know it must be awful to have to witness this after all you've been through"

"Yea…it's pretty traumatic" I said letting tears fall from my eyes. They were real tears but not for the reason John thought.

"Babe, don't worry if you don't want to talk to me about it we can get someone for you to talk to" he said rubbing my arm.

"It's just so awful" I said trying to cover up my tears.

"Was it really that bad?"

I nodded wiping my red puffy eyes.

"Well don't worry I'm gonna make sure nothing like this ever happens again!"

"I know you will"

After about 20 minutes I knew I was all cried out.

"John is there any food here?"

"Oh are you hungry? We don't really have anything in; I've kinda been living on pizza at the station"

"Oh ok…"

"But I can go out and get something what are you in the mood for?"

"I suppose pizza or something"

"Ok well I'll go out, get you a pizza and then I have to go back to the station"

"What? Are you not here for the night?"

"I can't babe…we're working flat out trying to stop Bane. I'll try and get back before you wake up tomorrow"

I nodded and he kissed me…but it wasn't the same.

* * *

I sat eating my pizza on my own in a cold apartment going over the tape in my head. It was hard to imagine that while he was speaking I was being taken from the van and he had no idea.

I locked the main door and found myself watching the tape again and again until I fell asleep on the couch holding clumps of my duvet wishing it was Bane.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello peeps! Hope you're all enjoying the story. Short chapter but the next one will be a big one so I figured I'd show how Jen is so unhappy in her new life in this one so the next one can be just focused on one issue alone without this tacked on at the start :) So enjoy and sure leave a review and thank you to everyone who is reviewing and reading. I love you all :D xxx**

**-Sailor**

I woke up the next day feeling arms wrapped around me. I opened my eyes but was instantly disappointed seeing the thin arms of John instead of the muscle laden arm of Bane. I pushed it off me and felt John groan and roll over. I threw the duvet off me and went to the bathroom that was baltic, by the way. As I dragged the brush through my air I heard the springs shift and John yawn loudly. I took out my toothbrush and started scrubbing my teeth as he wandered into the bathroom after me.

"How you feeling today babe?" he said kissing my shoulder while wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Bit better" I spat.

"Good, well take it easy today, don't be rushing back to work or anything just chill" he said smiling at me in the mirror.

"Yea will do" I smiled falsely.

Everything about life here now was so boring, so mundane and listless. I knew I couldn't take much more of this. But I didn't really know how I could get back to Bane, I wasn't sure if he was still living in the sewers since he had blown up half of the underground. Even if he was, I couldn't just go down one man hole expecting to find him, the sewer system is huge and finding him will prove to be a herculean task. But I knew I had to do something, sitting here and playing happy families was not an option. I know it's very selfish on my part but at the end of the day I'm no longer happy here with John. Everything had changed. Just as I was trying to contemplate how to get out of here as soon as John left, he hit me with a bombshell.

"Listen babe…I know talking about what happened is not what you want to do right now but can you come down to the station and maybe give the guys a few details…"

"What? No John!" I said spitting out my mouthwash. "I told you already…it's really traumatic and I don't want to talk about it"

"I know but you've gotta understand…you're the only link we have to him. Look, how about you just come down to the station with me and see how you feel"

"John…"

"I promise if you don't like it I'll bring you straight home"

I took in a huge breath and closed my eyes.

"Thanks babe" he said kissing my cheek.

I reluctantly got dressed and had a small part of the breakfast John had laid out. I didn't talk and John didn't push conversation. I threw myself into his cop car and we drove towards the police station. When we got there, I dragged myself out the car and through the doors followed by John. Everyone looked at me and it was like they knew what my story was and why I was here, but I knew they had actually no idea what was really going on. John brought me into a big office and sat me down as another man entered, clearly superior and gave me that fake smile before the sentence I knew was coming.

"So Jennifer, how are you?" he said as if he had no idea what I was here for.

"I'm fine" I piped.

I had no intention of giving out any information about Bane whatsoever.

"Happy to be back home?" he said sitting back in his chair trying to covey a feeling of ease and relaxation. Cop trick used to get people comfortable so they'll talk easier. My lawyer instincts were starting to come back to me.

"Yes, very much"

He glanced up at John and then back at me.

"It must have been awful for you to be trapped by that monster"

"Well it wasn't a holiday" I mumbled.

"Do you happen to remember where his hiding was? Any details at all?"

"No, I didn't see a lot. I was kept in a cage"

"Ok…did you see anyone when you were down there?"

"Nope"

"Did Bane tell you anything? Anything at all?"

"Nope"

He let out a sigh rubbing his temples.

"Did he ever talk to you? Say anything to you? Anything, doesn't matter how insignificant it was"

I held my breath for a minute as I watched him lean in. I was really just fucking with him more than anything else. I wasn't going to tell him anything even if he ripped my fingernails from my hands.

"Nope, sorry"

"Jen, you can tell us anything. Doesn't matter what it is" John said leaning down and smiling at me.

"John I've already told you, Bane didn't even speak to me the whole time I was there. He just left me in the cage and that was it"

"Did you see the Batman at any time there?"

"Nope"

"Would you like a cup of coffee or something?" he offered.

"No thanks I'm fine"

He gestured for John to leave the room and he did so accordingly.

"Listen I know how horrible it must have been for you…" he said his voice suddenly taking on a more fierce tone. "But you have to remember something" he sneered.

"John had me believing I wasn't going to be pressured"

"Well John's not here…I'm not stupid. He must have told you something"

"Well he didn't, and if you don't mind I've been through a lot and I don't appreciate this line of questioning" I said getting up.

I saw John standing at the coffee machine with his eyes looking shocked seeing me storming out.

"Jen, what's wrong?"

"He's pressuring me for answers that I don't have John!" I snapped. "I told you I wasn't ready to talk about it and here I am being paraded around this office and having lights shined in my face for details I don't have!"

"Jen…" he said visibly shocked by my reaction. "I'm sorry"

"Yea you know what I don't want to hear it! I need to go for a walk"

"Ok I'll come with you…I don't want you to be on your own…"

"No! I want to be on my own! And just for the record, you left me alone down there for long enough so I don't see why you all of a sudden care now!" I yelled. I saw other cops stopping and looking up as John stood there shocked at the words that were coming from my lips. To be fair, I was a bit shocked myself.

"What has gotten into you?"

"Just…leave me alone" I sighed, turning and walking out the main doors.

I walked out onto the chill Gotham streets not really knowing where I was going but I knew I had to get away from everyone. I walked over the bits of concrete from the explosions as people raced to where they were going. Clearly being on the streets for any length of time was not the thing to do. I went into a Starbucks and ordered a coffee. I sipped my cappuccino and I knew one thing I had to get back to Bane before I totally lost my mind. I tried to remember any point where we went up to the surface so I could pinpoint how to get from there down to the sewer. As I sat looking out the window at the deserted street I saw a car drive by. Except it wasn't a normal car, it was like a military car, no windows but with a camouflage design and it also looked impregnable. It slowed down significantly as it went by the window but I didn't pay that much attention to it. It eventually drove by the window fully as I sipped some more of my coffee and planned a way to get back to Bane.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello everyone! How is everyone getting on? :D Welcome to all my new readers and followers, good to have you here :D Thank's for all the lovely reviews I'm getting, they make me very happy! I love that people are liking this pairing and wanting to read more. So here we go, enjoy! :D **

**-Sailor**

After about 3 cappuccinos and watching the darkness creep up on Gotham, I figured I should go home, well back to John's apartment. I watched people beginning to jog to where they were going, clearly the fear getting the better of them. For some reason I didn't feel the need to run so I leisurely walked towards our apartment block. As I walked I went back over what I had said to John. Why did he think it was going to be a good idea to bring me to the cop shop to talk about what happened? What was going through his head? I could tell what I said had really hurt him though, I didn't mean to throw the fact he didn't find me back in his face but everything got on top of me. I suppose maybe I overreacted but I can't hide the fact I've only been back a few days and I'm already miserable. Why did I get out of that van, I should have stayed where I was and hid when I saw John. If I went back to Bane now, it would look very strange but I found myself realising I didn't really care that much what people thought. I found myself walking faster but out of anger more than anything else. I pushed the door of the block hard since it had a tendency to stick and walked up the stairs. I twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door to the darkness of the apartment.

"John?" I called but I got no response. I flicked on the light but saw no sign of life whatsoever.

I threw myself on the couch ripping my gloves off. My head was still killing me so I went into the bathroom to have a look at it in the mirror. I still had that scaldy bandage wrapped around it so I pulled it off to relieve the tension. I wrapped a new one, a bit looser, around it as the blood started seeping out. I walked back outside and nearly died when I saw Bane sitting on my couch where I just sat.

"Bane!" I gasped.

He looked around slowly at me but it wasn't the usual look he gives me. It was a look of hatred.

"Well, well, well…"

"Bane…"

"Search her…she might be wearing a wire"

Suddenly out of the darkness one of his goons grabbed me and started feeling around my stomach and chest.

"Bane how could think I would…"

"She's clean"

"Amazing, for a cop's moll"

"What?"

"Oh you don't remember? John Blake…I wouldn't be surprised if half of Gotham's "finest" know what we're planning"

"No Bane I didn't tell anyone! I know you would probably think that…but I didn't! I was actually just at the station this morning and they were trying to get me to give details and…"

"Quiet!" he bellowed.

I shuffled on the spot watching Bane's twitches. This wasn't the Bane I was used to. I looked around and got a sinking feeling.

"Where…where is John?"

"He's currently sitting in his office at the station…obviously looking over all the new details you gave him"

"Bane, I swear if you just let me explain…"

"What? And weave me another blanket of lies?" he sneered. "I know what you did…you're a snaky operator…everything you said, lies!" he roared.

"No! Life has been unbearable here!"

His forehead creased together covering his eyes slightly and he gestured for his men to leave. Five goons came from various parts of the room and exited through the small door, leaving me alone with Bane. He stood up towering over me and making the apartment look even smaller.

"How can I believe you? You said you weren't going anywhere…I show you my most vulnerable side and then you leave?" he growled.

"I know I said I wasn't going to leave and believe me if I could go back and change what happened I would"

"When I got back to the van…the door was ajar and you were gone. Everything went so well at the stadium and I come out to find you gone. I can't even describe what was going through my mind…everything was just so wrong"

"I know…I don't know what came over me. One minute there was no one there and then the next minute here's John at the window taking me out of the van" I said feeling myself getting choked up.

"So you're telling me you didn't plan all this? You didn't plan to take advantage, leave and go back to playing happy families with your cop?"

"Not at all! Sure I wanted to go with you remember? The last thing I wanted was to be away from you…"

His eyes looked between mine as if torn between his two minds, the one that believed me and the one that didn't.

"I don't know if I can believe you…"

"Bane…I swear" I said going over having to strain my neck to look up at him. I put my hands on either side of his face pulling him down to look at me. "Life has been hell here where it used to be everything I've always wanted. John tried to get information out of me this morning but I told them nothing…and things with John…you were right he doesn't love me" I said squeezing my eyes shut.

I saw his eyes dart to my head.

"What happened, little one?" he said running his fingers lightly over my bandaged head.

"I was in a car accident…John…"

"What?" he said his eyes all of a sudden alight.

"No…when the explosions went off, we were driving and they flipped the car over and I hit my head"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault" I said placing my hand over his.

I took his hand and wrapped them around me so I was pressed as close to his body as physically possible.

"See how I found you…" he whispered.

"I know you did…believe me I was planning to find a way back to you…but I'm glad you found me"

I let out a huge sigh of relief being back this close to Bane.

"When will he be back?" he whispered.

"I don't know…we had a huge fight this morning at the station. They were interrogating me for details about you…but I gave them less than nothing"

"If you have told them anything I would prefer you to be honest with me"

"I swear I gave them nothing. They're not worthy of your great plan or to be spared"

Bane reached into his pocket and pulled out the black case, the same black case that had the needle with the fluid that kept him alive without his mask.

"I got another trial sample…should last about 25 minutes"

I looked up and saw a glint in his eye. I grabbed his hand leading him towards the back room, John and I's old bedroom. I unzipped the case and took the needle in my fingers, injecting the other arm this time. I did the honours of unclipping his mask once I knew the effects had taken hold placing it on the bedside locker. He lay back on the bed, his weight causing my side to lift and I waited for his whole body to relax. He slipped off his bullet proof vest and threw it on the ground, taking in a huge breath. I lay beside him running my fingers up and down his bare chest until his head turned to mine as he lifted himself up and placed his weight gently on top of me. I pulled off my t shirt and his nimble fingers unhooked the back of my bra. His fingers ran over the scars on my stomach and all I could think about was what he told me before _"Animals don't notice anything about their prey before they devour it"_ and yet here he was examining every inch before he did anything.

His eyes remained firmly locked on the lines on my stomach studying them as if they were a map.

"Perfect imperfections" he whispered.

His face took on a whole new look without his mask. His nose, his chin, his mouth all gave him a whole different look but the eyes…it was the eyes that kept me grounded. He looked up at me and smiled before reaching out and grazing my right nipple with his thumb. His lips settled on my chest bone, the cold tip of his nose hitting me like an icy bullet. I rested my hands on his giant shoulders while his other hand pulled at the tracksuit bottoms I was wearing.

"Are you ok?" I asked wary of the fact that stuff could wear off at any moment.

"Yes" he whispered. His tongue ran down towards my bellybutton before returning back up, his face now resting on mine, our noses bumping off each other while our eyes kept the stare. I felt him unhinge the huge belt at the top of his trousers before unzipping them. I finally felt his bare skin against my own. We inhaled each other's breath as we both waited for the other to make a move. Then I felt him, his fingers brushed off my inner thigh as he guided himself in, his eyes never breaking their stare. His bottom lip trembled slightly, his crooked teeth being exposed as a groan passed by them.

"How did I go so long without you?" I said with shaky breath.

"Whatever we have missed, we can make up for"

His breath on my hot skin gave me instant goose bumps making me part my legs wider, wrapping them fully around his enormous waist pushing him in further. I looked down at his massive torso with a tuft of black hair just before his crotch and waited. His eyes clenched together before opening darting straight into mine. I felt his huge waist crash towards mine while I emitted a groan of mammoth proportions. Being used to a normally thin man, this was new to me. I arched my back upwards and felt like my legs were going to snap off and my back muscles would rip fully but I didn't care. Each buck felt better than the last. My breath hitched and went silent for a second every time he hit my wall. It felt like I may never walk again but all of that was obsolete at this point in time. Right now, we were as close as we could ever get to each other. He kissed me, holding my mouth against his while he quickened his pace. The springs underneath the mattress squealed out and the whole bed frame rocked violently. I could have sworn I heard one of the main wooden frames underneath snap. A choked moan escaped his lips occasionally, which was nice to hear without the robotic sentiment for once. I felt all the breath knocked out of me and my whole lower system getting that tingling sensation before I felt all my muscles clamp down on him which slowed his movements. His eyes knitted together obviously enjoying the friction that was going on between us inside me. His arms lost their balance for a second before he steadied himself again before giving it one last push which knocked me up the bed slightly causing me to bang my already injured head off the headboard. But it didn't matter, Bane's weight collapsed fully on top of me as I felt his fluid leave in hot rapid bursts into my body. His crushing weight limited my breathing capacity but I didn't care. Little breath was a small sacrifice to have this beautiful, amazing man lying on top of me. I kissed the top of his head and I could feel his short swift breath over my breast as his heart rate slowed down.

"Is the pain still at bay?" I asked trying to regain my own breath.

"Yes little one…your beautiful caring spirit doesn't leave you in any situation does it?" he chuckled.

I laughed with him while I rubbed his head and one thought just kept popping into my head. If I died right now I would die happy.

He lay on top of me for another few minutes as we both tried to regain our strength.

"Bane tell me when the pain starts even a little bit"

"Little one…the pain I would bear to be this close to you wouldn't matter in the least. I would find a way to survive…I would have to, I can't let you go"

"Well I promise I'm not going anywhere"

I reached over and took his mask putting it up to his lips slightly. He sucked in a breath after a few minutes; obviously the stuff was beginning to wear off.

"You could have killed me here…if everything you said was a lie…" he said taking another breath. "Just take the mask and run…I would die here…" he whispered resting it on my chest right in front of his mouth, his body obviously too weak to clip it on. Unlike all the other times, that option didn't even come into my head this time around.

I reached over and secured it on the back of his head.

"What's the next step?" I asked.

"Blackgate little one…" he said his strength coming back to him making him sit up a bit. "Blackgate…" he whispered his hand fixing his mask so it was comfortable before running his fingers down my cheek.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello everyone! Old and new readers and reviewers, welcome! I hope you enjoy this chapter and as usual, throw a review there if you want to :) **

**-Sailor**

I lay in Bane's huge arms for the next hour, we didn't talk we didn't need to. We just lay there listening to each other's breathing. He rubbed my forehead softly lulling me into sleep but I fought against it. I knew I couldn't fall asleep here in case John came back. I looked at his bulging arms that were wrapped around me; one was almost as thick as my whole body which made me smile.

"Little one?" he mumbled.

"Yea?"

"Did you know Harvey Dent?"

That was an odd question.

"Em, no I never got the pleasure of meeting him. He was a great man though from what I've heard"

"Yes…"

"I mean I felt very privileged when I was chosen for his internship"

"You're a very smart individual"

"What's with all the questions?"

"Just curious…he locked up a lot of men"

"Yea, that Dent act was a blessing. Organised crime in the city went to practically zero…"

But then I realised who I was talking to and immediately stopped.

"Hmm…" he mused and said no more.

Bane's arms uncoiled themselves from me and picked up his vest throwing it over his head. I pulled my t shirt on and straightened the sheets.

"Before we leave, I must take care of your head" he said pulling lightly at the bandage.

"It's fine…"

But I knew that wasn't going to be enough for him. He grabbed a bag that was sitting on the couch and pulled me towards the bathroom, lifted me up and sat me on the edge of the cold sink. I dug my knees into his hips to keep me from falling into it. He still towered over me and pulled on the little tie I had holding the bandage to my injury. He opened the bag and pulled out a bottle and grabbed a towel. I felt him parting my hair and pushing it to the side so the wound was exposed. He tipped the bottle onto the towel lightly dabbing my head, the stinging sensation hitting me like a truck.

"Ow!" I squealed.

"It won't get infected now" he stated simply. "It's starting to scab…seems like a deep gash. You must have banged it hard"

"I did"

"Well I think we should let it breathe for a while instead of wrapping it up tight, allow the air at it, dry it out" he said continuing to dab.

"Thank you" I said after he tilted my head back indicating he was done.

"It is no problem at all" he said throwing the bottle back in the bag.

"Are we going to Blackgate now?"

"No not yet, the first trials will start tomorrow"

"Oh really?" I said something dropping in my stomach.

"Yes, we need to get you all prepared…Blackgate will come after. Grab anything you need, it's not looking like you'll be back here" he said his eyes striking mine.

"Yea…you're right" I swallowed looking around.

I remembered my gym bag that I had in the closet. I took it and started throwing stuff in, shirts, tights, jeans and my hair straightener.

Bane stood in the living room while I raced around throwing my meagre possessions into a gym bag.

"Ready?" he said as I stood around glancing at everything. I think I had everything.

"Yes"

He strode over to the door and opened it, nearly pulling it off its hinges, and held it open for me. I took once last glance around at the apartment where John and I had prepared to start down life's road together. It wasn't the same place it was when we first decided to buy it. Except John had no idea, he was at work oblivious to all this. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a slight twinge of pain and guilt thinking about when he comes home tonight to find me and my stuff gone forever with no trace or indication as to where I've gone.

"Little one" Bane pressed.

I walked out under his arm that was holding the door and took one last look as he closed it shut. We walked down the corridor and down the stairs, my gym bag banging off my hip. I didn't say anything, I felt really bad for John. Bane picked up on this, I knew he did. We got to the end of the stairs and he stopped.

"Bane what is it?" I said stopping a few steps ahead of him.

He gestured for me to come over so I stepped over to him. He grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye before pulling me into a tight hug. I held onto him as tight as I could. He knew that was exactly what I needed. I felt his fingers brushing over my hair which made me clutch harder to him. A van pulled up outside the door and when we eventually let go of each other, we walked out and hopped in, Bane putting me in the front seat beside him.

* * *

We got back to the sewer and nothing had changed at all, except for the fact I felt a lot more comfortable here now.

"I have your suit, you'll need it tomorrow" he said taking my bag and putting it beside his bed.

"That's true" I said letting out a huge yawn.

"If you're tired…you should sleep"

"Yea I probably should, I am in court tomorrow I guess" I said going over to the door of my cage, it was locked.

"What are you doing?" called Bane.

"Going to bed"

He pointed to his bed and looked at me.

"You sleep here now"

"Oh ok…" I said walking over to him. I still wasn't used to this; I always saw that as his bed.

I lay down on the bed as he pulled the blanket up over me.

"How are you feeling?"

"My head is still a bit sore" I sighed.

"I have a painkiller that may work…it's an injection though"

"Where'd you get it?"

"It's a concoction of my own making"

"Is it safe?"

"Little one, I would not dare administer it to you if it wasn't 100 per cent safe"

"You used a trial sample…"

"That was different…that was for me" he said cutting me off.

He opened a drawer and took out a small box slightly resembling a first aid box. He took out a fresh syringe and a small bottle holding a clear liquid. He pierced the lid of the bottle with the needle sucking in the liquid. He held it up to the dim light and pressed the top to push out any excess air.

"Em…I'm not sure about this" I said glaring at the needle.

"It's ok, all it will do is numb the pain and help you sleep. I promise nothing bad will happen"

"Ok…" I said outstretching my arm.

His finger ran over the soft part on the inside of my elbow before penetrating my flesh at an angle. I felt it sneaking into my arm which turned my stomach. Needles just make me ill. I felt it sit there, moving as little as possible before I felt a cool liquid running through my veins. After a few minutes, I began to feel drowsy and the pain seemed to just disappear. I giggled a bit feeling slightly off my head.

"That's to be expected…" I heard him mumble.

"Bane…" I said feeling myself drifting off to sleep.

"Yes little one?"

"I think…I think I love you" I giggled before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

I woke up from quite possibly the best sleep I have ever had. I rubbed my eyes throwing the blanket off me. My suit lay folded on a chair to the right of the bed, but Bane was nowhere to be seen. I got up and decided now would be as good a time as any to change. I figured I was on my own so I could change really quickly and be ready for when Bane comes back to bring me to the courthouse. I noticed he had a small pile of files sitting on the desk and I figured they were the people who were coming up first in the firing line. I recognised most of them, but I thought it best not to let Bane know that. Hopefully they'll be too busy worrying about their sentence to notice me standing there. I buttoned up my shirt and threw on my suit jacket while flicking through the files. They all had themes in common. Financial fraud, money laundering, politicians expense account receipts not accounted for, banker's bonuses…it was all here, everything that I had been surrounded by in my old life. Just as I had opened a file on one my father's business associates I heard the door swing open and in stepped Bane.

"You're up"

"Yea…that stuff you gave me really knocked me out"

"Yes…do you remember what you said before you fell asleep?" he said his stare hitting me right in my chest.

"What?"

"Before you fell asleep…you said something"

"I did?"

"Yea…but it could have just been the shot" he said shaking his head.

"Was it important?" I said closing the file.

"Well if you don't remember…obviously not" he murmured.

I picked up the files and turned around to face Bane.

"Are we going soon?"

"Yes, I was just waiting on you to wake up…you look great" he said his eyes looking me up and down.

"I do? It's just a suit…" I said feeling myself going slightly red.

"We should give them something nice to look at before they are sentenced to death"

"Thank you…" I said not really sure how to take that.

"C'mon little one…justice awaits" he said as he grabbed his coat and opened the main door leading out of our little home.

I smiled up at him as I walked through the door. What I didn't tell him was that I remembered exactly what I said to him. I was just saying I didn't because I didn't expect myself to come out with that. It had been in my head for a while but saying it wasn't something I was prepared to do, not yet anyway until I was sure what his thoughts were. Saying it made everything so concrete and rock solid. But in my weary drugged state obviously I wasn't thinking entirely straight. I would tell him eventually, but not right now.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! Is everyone excited for Christmas? :D I will be updating again but I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday time whatever you're doing or whoever you're spending it with :) So here we go, hope everyone likes it :D Welcome to all my new readers, nice to have you here. And reviews are always welcome so yea I'll let you get on with reading it so. Talk to you guys soon! :D xoxo**

**-Sailor**

We got to the city hall, Bane hopping out and offering his hand as I hopped out. My heels clattered against the marble floors of the enormous building as I walked through the corridor towards the main hall. Bane walked beside me until I stopped dead in my tracks hearing screaming and chanting along with the bang of a gavel. I got a sinking feeling hearing it echo through the hall towards me. Bane looked around and took my hand in his grasping it tight.

"It'll be alright, I'll be here"

I walked on shakily being escorted by Bane. He pushed open the big double doors and everyone turned to look at us.

"Order!"

I looked up and saw Dr Crane sitting behind a huge desk with stacks of paper sitting in front of it. He looked down at Bane and nodded and Bane gestured with his hand towards him. He banged his gavel again and everyone went silent.

"Right we are ready to start proceedings. First up we have Michael Hughes. Go fetch him" he shouted to one of Bane's minions.

They ran down a set of stairs and disappeared while Bane walked me up right in front of the room to where a desk stood to right of the judge's desk. He put the files on the desk and pulled the chair out for me. I opened the Hughes file while taking a deep breath. I wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen so I was a bit nervous. Bane knelt down beside me and leaned in close.

"I'll be right down the back of the room if you need anything little one"

I nodded and watched as he walked through the crowd and disappeared beside a pillar. Suddenly I heard a blood curdling scream coming up the stairs as two goons dragged a man by his arms kicking and screaming into the hall. His Henri Lloyd sailing jacket fell off him ripped to bits and pieces.

"You think this is legal?! My father is a Supreme Court judge!" he bellowed as he was thrown into the tattered chair in front of Dr Crane.

"It doesn't matter who your father was" he said emphasising the 'was'. "This is merely a sentencing period"

Dr Crane looked down at me and nodded as if to proceed. I stood up not really knowing what to say.

"Em…"

"Who is this tramp, another one of the inmates at the asylum?! Wait until my father hears about this!" I suddenly heard Mr Hughes bellow. Seriously, no wonder Bane hates my kind.

I heard Bane's heavy footsteps suddenly charging up towards Mr Hughes. He grabbed him by the scruff of the neck dragging him down the back of the room. He placed his hands around his head and pulled it violently. His head spun around further than it should have before he collapsed to the floor in a heap. Everyone just turned back as if it was totally normal. Even though I knew that this was the point of this whole court system it still shook me to my core watching him being so cold blooded…I don't know how to explain it.

"Death then" stated Crane simply before banging his gavel. I looked around and met Bane's eyes, they burned bright with passion. He went back to his pillar and disappeared from view again.

"Very good…next!" shouted Dr Crane. "Mr and Mrs O' Carroll Kelly"

My stomach dropped seeing him and his wife being dragged out. Her fur coat was pulled off her and thrown onto a big pile at the corner of the room. Ross looked immediately over at me as I stood up.

"You…what are you doing here?! You're not defending these people are you?!" he screamed. His wife looked between me and him as she struggled against the grip of the goon who held her.

"Ross they took my snow leopard fur!" she screamed. But he clearly wasn't listening.

Dr Crane looked over at me and nodded.

"Banker's bonuses, tax fraud, passing off expenses as bank charges…" I said reading from the long line of crimes he had committed but had just been wrote off under "Fine paid" even though it hadn't been.

"Hey! I remember a time when you were going to benefit from those expenses!" he shouted.

Dr Crane looked over at me and I felt myself beginning to sweat.

"You're up to your neck in it as well!" he yelled. Everyone went silent and I saw Bane come into view at the side of my vision. I looked around and he was standing there staring at me listening to Ross shout.

"Wait until your old man gets here! What? Are you going to send him to his death as well?!"

Suddenly I felt everyone's eyes on me but then I heard Crane interject.

"You have lived off the hard working pay cheques of everyone else! You hiked up bank charges giving those poor people no option but to pay them to fund your frivolous lifestyle. Do I have that right?" said Crane to me.

"Yes Judge" I nodded not looking at Ross.

"So, death or exile?"

"What?"

"Those are your options" smiled Crane.

The husband and wife looked at each other before Ross looked over at me.

"Don't look at me I can't help you" I smiled.

"You fucking slut" he sneered.

I saw Bane shift in his place.

"Look either death or exile, even someone as fucking stupid as you should be able to pick at least one!" I roared. I glanced over and saw Banes eyes widen slightly.

His wife suddenly started crying.

"They've taken the house, the cars, the furs and everything else!" she wailed. "There's no point anymore!"

"Will you shut up" he sneered.

"Your honour, these people have scourged everything they could from Gotham and from the people who couldn't afford it, I don't think they should even be afforded the choice if it pleases the court"

Crane smiled down at me and banged his gavel.

"Fair enough, death! Sold!" he smiled.

He looked over towards Bane. "I like her" he laughed.

Two goons grabbed both of them as Ross shouted abuse at me to which I simply smiled and waved him off as his blood curdling screams rang through the courthouse. I took in a deep breath and actually felt at ease, like I was back at work.

"NEXT!"

* * *

We worked through about 20 people before I saw the sun set through the large window. I recognised most of them and they recognised me. They all gave me that look of 'what are you doing here? Help me! You're one of us! I simply looked away. Even if I wanted to help them, I couldn't. I was beginning to get tired and my feet were starting to get sore in my heels. Bane approached me for the first time since he brought me here. I could always feel him behind me but he kept his distance while I worked.

"We just have one more to do" Bane said quietly.

"Ok" my voice cracked with the tiredness.

"You're tired"

"Yea it's ok, I'm used to working long hours" I smiled.

"Well you're not working long hours anymore. We will finish up after this" he said taking the last file up.

"Bane, where does exile take them?"

"Out onto the ice…where their death is imminent unless they can get across it…no one has succeeded yet"

"Charles Ryan" I heard Crane call.

Everything in my system just shut down. It was my father.

"Bane…please" I whispered but I couldn't tell if he knew what was going on and chose to ignore it or if he didn't hear me. I was betting more on this being my ultimate test.

A goon came up dragging my father behind him. He didn't look well. He was a shadow of his former self. He didn't see me for the first few minutes because he was too busy looking around flustered by the whole thing but I knew it was only a matter of time.

"Charles Ryan…tax fraud, tax evasion, you bore no sympathy to the hundreds of people who you made homeless by foreclosing on their houses and throwing them onto the street"

"They didn't pay their mortgages! They signed their contract and that was written in it! I did nothing wrong!"

"Am I missing anything?" said Crane to me.

I glanced over at my father and his whole face dropped seeing me there.

"Jennifer! What…where have you been?!" he said as if there was no one else in the room with us.

"Dad…"

I looked around for Bane but he was nowhere to be seen.

"What are you doing here? Do they have you up on front of this kangaroo court as well?"

"No Dad…I…"

But then I saw all the pieces fit together in his head. "Are you working for these people?" he gulped.

"Well…"

"Do you know what they did?" he gasped as tears fell down his face. "They came into the house, ransacked everything…took your mother's entire jewellery collection, furs, money everything! Being treated like common street urchins…and you're here working on behalf of them. I can't believe you"

"Dad if you just let me explain"

"No! Everything we did for you…and this is how you repay us" he said tears now streaming down. All I wanted to do was to go over and hug him but I knew I couldn't.

"If only your mother could see you now…you sicken me! You've disgraced your entire family and it's good name!" he roared.

"HA! Good name" I heard Crane laugh wiping away an invisible tear. "I'm sorry to get in the middle of this little family affair here but can we move this along people?" said Crane. "So Mr Ryan, do you think you deserve mercy because you were just following the little black print at the end of their contract? While you on the other hand refused to pay the tax you should have. I have it on record here that for 1 year tax you paid just 3,000 dollars…on a whole year and what was your yearly salary?" he said flicking through more paper. "O yes that's right, 220,000 dollars. How can you explain that?"

My father could do nothing except stand there. That money paid for everything I was used to, my education, my college lifestyle, my car and everything else and yet here I was expecting him to justify to me.

"I can't" he stated simply.

"Dr Crane, be reasonable" I begged.

"Reasonable? You think those people who he kicked out of their homes because they fell back on their repayments were treated reasonably by your father? Nope. So it's death or exile"

"Dad…" I said fear and panic bubbling up inside me.

"Exile" he shouted.

"Sold!" he said before banging down the gavel.

"Dad!" I screamed as they dragged him away. I pushed the chair out wanting to go with him but I felt two familiar strong hands hold me back.

"Dad!" I screamed again feeling my tear ducts well up.

They dragged him down the stairs and out through the doors all the while his cold stare cutting me like a knife. Everything he had done for me and this was how he was going to meet his end.

"Court is adjourned for today!" yelled Crane before hopping down off his bench.

"DAD! I'm sorry!" I shrieked but he was gone. Bane held me back and wrapped his arms around me folding over my chest. I finally felt my tear ducts explode. Everyone filed out ignoring my shrieks and cries. Bane didn't say anything to me and I didn't say anything to him. He just let me cry.

* * *

Eventually it was just Bane and I standing there in the same position, my back against his chest while he held me tight while I still flooded the hall with my shrieks.

"That was my father!" I finally managed to spit out.

"I know…"

"Well then why didn't you do something to stop it?!"

"This is Talia's court…"

"Bullshit!" I roared pushing his arms off me. I turned around watching him shaking his head, looking at the ground.

"You could have let at least one of them go! He was my father!"

The more I said it, the more it hit home. I had just sentenced my father to death.

"If Talia found out…"

"You know what, I'm starting to think all this shit you went on about, talking about how you don't love Talia anymore was all lies! You're her little minion doing all her dirty work! She's got you wrapped around her little finger!"

"Jennifer" he purred.

I felt my neck crane back a bit; he had never called me by my name before and it gave me the shivers. My name sounded so much nicer coming from his mouth which I hated to admit.

"I am sorry"

I wiped away the tears from my puffy, sore eyes and I honestly didn't know what to say.

"I do not love Talia that I can assure you of. I understand why you may think I do considering what just happened but I don't"

"How do you expect me to believe anything you say anymore" I sneered.

"Because I love you"

My knees buckled underneath me and I suddenly felt like all the wind had been knocked out of me.

"What?" I choked out.

He walked over to me and stood as close as possible, looking down into my eyes.

"I love you…even if you don't feel the same way…" he stammered "and once this work is done Talia will know that. As I have said before she is not the same person. Her ugly side has consumed her. With you, I do not see that and I am sorry for what has happened here today. I don't know what else I can say to you. I feel it's time you know that. In this city where nothing at this time is certain or stable, you can be certain of that. That's concrete."

I looked between his amazing, all-consuming eyes and I didn't know what to think. I was torn between everything I had ever believed in. My whole world seemed to be crashing down around me and yet another one seemed to be rising from those ashes. However, it still didn't feel like the right time to say that, so I didn't say anything. I just stood there looking into his eyes until I couldn't anymore and walked out of the hall with Bane following, my heels making a monotonous clanking sound while his boots made an ominous thud all through the corridor.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! So new chapter, next one is gonna be a big one regarding decisions being made by either party...for now ;) so keep watching this space! O I'm also thinking of starting a Lawless fanfic, in case you haven't seen it it's one of Tom Hardy's newest movies and it's amazing! Don't worry I'll still be working on this story because well I love this story but any thoughts anybody? :) So that's it for now, enjoy! And as always, leave a review, I do love reading them :) xoxo**

**-Sailor**

_Find light in the beautiful sea_

_I choose to be happy_

_You and I, you and I_

_We're like diamonds in the sky_

_You're a shooting star I see_

_A vision of ecstasy_

_When you hold me, I'm alive_

_We're like diamonds in the sky_

I stepped out onto the street, the evening sun hitting me and I honestly didn't know what to do. Bane stopped a few steps behind me in the shadows as if waiting to see which way I was going. I stumbled on the spot taking one step one way and then another the other way. I turned back to him and he simply stared at me. A van pulled up on the street right in front of me and Bane stepped out a bit. The door swung open, I took a look at Bane and turned back. I suddenly felt him right behind me, his cold mask resting on my shoulder hitting me through my suit.

"The fire is rising; don't be consumed by it. Rise above it with me"

I looked left and right. Where would I go? Back to John? No, it wasn't time for that. I lifted myself into the van and heard a sigh of relief come from Bane. He sat in beside me wrapping his huge arm around me.

"I'm sorry but its progress…"

"Bane…it's fine, just please don't mention it again" I said placing my fingers on his mask where his lips would be.

He nodded and stared forward until we got back to the sewer and I let the little fake smile I had put on, just as I said that last sentence, die.

* * *

All through the car journey I could feel my eyes drooping over. All the stress and worry was starting to catch up on me. When we reached home, I immediately kicked off my heels and took off my jacket. I took some of my casual clothes I had brought with me and got changed. I noticed the door to my cage was unlocked; obviously he had gone back in to get the blanket he had given me on my first night. He sat hunched over with a pipe connected to his mask as the liquid lowered from the window above his bed. I stepped into the cage quietly and closed over the door lying on the thin mattress. It wasn't as cold as I remembered. After a few more minutes I heard Bane's movements.

"Little one, what are you doing?" he said stomping over. I had my back turned but his heavy footsteps were unforgettable.

"Going to sleep" I yawned.

"Why are you sleeping here?"

"I just…wanted to be on my own for a while" I said huddling my knees further up to my chest.

"But…you never want to be on your own"

I didn't say anything to that, it was true. Even the idea of being locked here again was starting to give me jitters but I just couldn't face sleeping beside him right now. It didn't feel right. I heard him open the cage door and step in.

"Little one…you sleep up there now"

"No I'm fine here, seriously" I said clasping my eyes together.

After a few minutes, I heard the cage door slam shut and his heavy footsteps stomp away. I eventually fell asleep, even though the cold began to nibble away at me through the night. I woke up cold and with a horrible pain in my neck. I sat up rubbing it trying to dim the pain and saw Bane walking around the room gathering items with his sheepskin coat wrapped around him.

"Bane?" I croaked.

"Ah you're awake" he said not looking at me.

I got up and pushed the door, it was locked.

"Bane, the door is locked" I said beginning to panic.

"You said you wanted to be on your own"

"Well yea…"

"I have to go to Blackgate so you get to stay here all on your own for as long as you want. No movement"

"But I…but I want to go with you" I said pressing my face up against the bars, my fingers clutching them.

He looked at me and walked over, his fingers resting on mine that were wrapped around the bars while his eyes bore into mine.

"Well we all can't get what we want little one"

He turned and walked away slamming the door behind him and I was stuck in the cage, on my own for the rest of the day.

* * *

When Bane eventually returned, he simply walked past me as if I wasn't there. It struck me hard in the chest because I wasn't used to this.

"Bane"

He looked up at me, throwing off his jacket.

"Yes little one?"

"I'd like to get out now" I mumbled.

"Oh did you not enjoy your alone time?" he snipped.

"No…I missed you"

That sentence made him turn around fully to look at me. His brow knitted together as if he was slightly suspicious of what I said. He unclipped the keys from his belt and walked slowly over, his eyes never leaving mine. He stuck the key in slowly and turned it before pulling the door open. I pushed it open and jumped on him, pulling him into a huge hug. I meant it, I had missed him. His arms warily wrapped around me before squeezing me tight.

"Bane, when you said you loved me, you said even if I didn't feel the same way…"

"Well if you don't feel the same way, I cannot force that"

"So even if I didn't you would still feel the same?"

I saw his eyes droop slightly.

"Yes I would feel the same. I will always feel that way. When I saw you cowering under your desk that morning…I just knew"

I looked down at his chest pressing my hand up against it.

"If you don't feel the same way little one, that's ok…" he mumbled.

This was it, it was now or never. He had practically given me an ultimatum right here and now even if by accident.

"I do love you Bane"

I felt his hands squeeze tighter around my own.

"But you must understand where I'm coming from in all this"

"I do…"

"You don't, if you did you wouldn't have made me do what I did yesterday" I said feeling my breath hitch in my throat. "We are two very different people"

"But the man I took you from, he believed in a similar dream to you…and that didn't work"

"I understand that but…"

But before I got a chance to finish, one of his minions came bursting through the door with a panic stricken look on his face.

"Boss!"

But Bane's eyes never let mine.

"Boss…Talia needs to speak to you urgently!"

I looked between his goon and him but his eyes never let up.

"But…" he urged, grasping my hands tighter.

"Boss?"

Then I finally got to hear the voice of the woman of the infamous Talia.

"Bane! I need you here!" I heard her bellow, her voice echoing through the entire sewer system. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His grip loosened and I finally got a chance to wriggle my hands free. I quietly stepped over and sat in my cage, closing the door. Bane stood in the same spot, shook his head slowly before bounding towards the door and grabbing his minion in the process before slamming it shut.

I sat in the cage thinking about what I never got a chance to tell Bane. While I knew I had strong feelings for him, I couldn't deny the fact that the possibility of this not working was so high because of who he was and who I was. John was a better fit for me. An upstanding member of society, you couldn't write it more perfectly. We were the dream couple, a police officer, a member of Gotham's finest and a lawyer working at the firm of quite possibly the best D.A Gotham has ever seen. Lawyer and terrorist did not go. But then I remembered the overwhelming sense of grief I got when I was back in my old apartment with John. It wasn't the same as when I was with Bane. But think about it, if he and Talia successfully bring Gotham to its knees where would we go? Would we be destined to live in the sewers for the rest of our lives? And would Talia be constantly around? Also the fact he had let my father be sent to his death and probably every other member of my family just because we were the wealthy elite. Why didn't he want to send me to my death? I was one of them after all, a parasite that lived off the working class and their pain. Why should I be treated differently? By right, I should be up in front of Dr Crane being sentenced. But then I stopped thinking logically for a second and the part of my brain I usually ignore started to talk. Clearly Bane lived somewhere before he came to Gotham…sure it probably wasn't a pent house apartment in the centre of Manhattan but I'm sure he had somewhere planned. He didn't seem like the type of man not to have a plan set up. And he said he would look after me and that he didn't love Talia anymore…but he did let me stand there and watch as my father was sent to his death. As much as I tried, I couldn't see past that. I kicked the door open slightly and crawled out over onto his bed and pulled the blanket up over me, my mind still being torn between whether to finish my conversation with Bane or just tell him I loved him again, leave it at that and play it by year. But then I got a hollow feeling, I'm sure John wasn't going to allow me to just disappear this time, not that easily. I'd like to convince myself that once Bane is out of the picture John and I would go back to the way things were, except I knew that I couldn't even swallow a lie and false hope that big, but I might just have to.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello everyone! Hope everyone is well :) So new chapter, also in case you haven't seen it I have a new Lawless fanfic started here, it's called 'Listen as the Nightingale Sings' so check it out if you want and sure leave a review here or on that, would be nice to hear what you guys think. So here we go, enjoy! :D xoxo**

**-Sailor**

Bane arrived back in the room after a while and lay down on the bed beside me. His hand rested on my waist and I could hear his robotic sigh in my ear.

"Your boyfriend has been sniffing around" he mumbled.

"Looking for me?"

"No actually, he's trying to get his police buddies out of their concrete jail"

I felt myself exhale a huge breath as silently as I could. I didn't want to let him know it was an exhausted breath. I had gone again and he still didn't care. But I knew Bane picked up on it because I felt him shift his weight towards me.

"Courts will be back in session tomorrow"

"Ok"

"I won't be able to be there with you"

"What why?"

"I have something to do"

"Who's gonna take me?"

"I'll have one of my men bring you, they have to pick up something on the way also"

"Are you going to come at some point during the day?" I said turning my body over onto my other side to face him. Even though I was still wary of him, not having him with me in court with me wasn't an idea I liked.

"I don't know, there's a lot to do"

I knew what that meant; Talia clearly had a lot for him to do while she was swanning around doing nothing.

"What does she do while you're doing all this work?"

"She's working on things on the other end but she needs me to keep things going from down here"

"But…I need you too" I whispered pinching his chest lightly.

He grabbed my hand and looked at me with a suspicious glare.

"But earlier…"

"I know I was a bit cagey…but I suppose logic doesn't…doesn't come into it really" I choked out.

It was so hard for me to admit that and I still didn't feel 100% sure about my decision but I figured I was never going to fully sure about it because of how volatile the situation was.

"And when you said about John…and how that didn't work out…I don't know I suppose I had hoped everything would work out and John and I would go back to what we had"

"But you now realise that it can never go back to that?"

"Yea…"

"And that it'll be me and you…" he said grabbing both my hands and holding them to his chest. "That will rise from the ashes of Gotham"

"Yes. I understand that now"

He let out a huge sigh of relief and his eyes closed over, his mask nuzzling into my hands.

* * *

The next day I woke up with Bane sitting on a chair opposite the bed, his elbow's resting on his knees just looking at me.

"Morning little one"

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. He gave me a granola bar which I ate while he brought my suit over for me to change into.

"I have to go, but when you're ready knock on that door and two of my men will take you in a black van. Now they have to make one stop so don't be scared, this is all part of the procedure. You just sit in the car and wait. They will then drop you off at the court and I will see you later this evening. Are you going to be ok on your own?"

"Yea, I think I will be"

He stopped what he was doing and looked me dead in the eye.

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, well I kinda have to be, don't I?"

"Well while I do have prior commitments to Talia, after what you told me last night…I have to take care of my future now and that should take priority"

"No you already have responsibilities to take care of…I'll be fine" I smiled.

He nodded, headed for the door and was gone. Once I got dressed, I did what Bane told me. I knocked on the door and two guys opened it. I followed them out to the surface, neither of them speaking to me; obviously they were warned by Bane. I hopped into the backseat and they drove through the streets and then turned onto a back street. They parked the car and sat in silence.

"Em…what are we doing?"

Then someone briskly walked through the lane in front of the van.

"Go!" one of them shouted. They both jumped out and ran towards the person who just walked past. I wasn't sure if I was just supposed to leave or stay here. Of course, it suddenly hit me that everyone was gone and I was, once again, on my own. I opened the door and stepped out tiptoeing towards the corner of the wall. I peered around and saw the two guys who were in the van with me and three more guys approaching another group. It was Jim Gordon and his men.

"Jen!" I heard someone whisper sharply behind me. I ignored it thinking it was all in my head.

"Jennifer!" I heard again.

I looked around and saw John perched up on a fire escape looking down at me, with plenty of questions in his eyes. I looked up and my body suddenly froze. He looked around obviously looking for some way to get to me without getting caught. He gestured for me to walk towards him while they all had their backs to me. I turned and looked away but I heard him whisper sharply again.

"Jennifer, what the fuck are you doing?!"

I kept my eyes locked on the goons before I felt someone pull sharply on my suit jacket dragging me back.

"Jennifer!"

"Commissioner Gordon, you are under arrest" I heard one goon say.

"John, stop!"

"By whose authority?"

"C'mon, quick!"

"The people of Gotham" the goon smiled.

I was dragged around a corner just as the goons turned back with Gordon in hand dragging him towards the van.

"John!" I said yanking my arm out of his grip.

He reached over and grabbed my collar dragging me along with him as he began running. We ran around corners and bends until we got to the main road where he threw me into his car and locked the doors after he sat in the driver's side. He revved the engine and drove manically through the streets until we were a safe distance away. He killed the engine and turned around to me, his face glistening with sweat.

"Where did you go?!" he shouted.

"John don't shout at me!" I said feeling like my heart was in my throat.

"I'm sorry…but I came home and all your stuff was gone! What happened?"

"Well he came looking for me and found me…"

"That's bullshit! Your hair straightener was gone and I seriously doubt when Bane came looking for you his top priority was to take you and your clothes and your hair straightener…you willingly went" he said his breath catching in his throat.

"No John" I lied. "You've got it wrong…"

"You're a fucking liar!"

"I'm not!"

"I can't believe you…" he said shaking his head, a bead of sweat or a tear passing from his eye I wasn't sure which.

He started the engine again making me fall against the back seat as he sped off towards the outskirts of the city.

"Where are we going?"

But he ignored me which was unsettling because John never ignored me. It reminded me of when I was first with Bane when he used to ignore me. I heard John whimper slightly in the front seat but I just looked out the window watching the city fade.

* * *

We pulled up outside a huge stately home and John killed the engine.

"I only have one question, why him…what is it about him?"

I didn't know how to answer that to be honest.

"I could have given you everything…" he sighed.

I still didn't say anything, there was nothing I could say.

He stormed out of the car and dragged me out towards the main door.

"John, where are we?"

"Someone who you will talk to" he sneered knocking on the door three times. Eventually someone arrived to answer it. It was Bruce Wayne.

"Blake, Jennifer?" he asked clearly not making the connection.

"Bruce…we need to talk"

Bruce stood aside with a slightly shocked look on his face seeing how rough John was handling me. He threw me onto a couch and Bruce sat opposite while John stood towering over me.

"Blake…are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Tell him" he said quietly. I twitched slightly in my place as Bruce studied me. "TELL HIM!" John roared which made me jump.

"There's nothing to tell!" I yelled back.

After a few moments of silence Bruce spoke up.

"Jennifer you got out of the pit ok then?"

"Yes Bruce…"

"What?"

"Nothing, mind your own business" I sneered.

"Tell him now!"

"Tell me what?"

"She's…with…with that madman!"

Bruce's eyes locked onto mine.

"Bruce I have no idea what he's talking about"

"You lying slag!"

"Fuck you John!"

"Hey!" Bruce shouted. "Will everyone just relax and tell me what's going on"

"Well I thought I finally got my girlfriend back and…then I come home to find her gone and all her stuff! She obviously told Bane where she was and he came to get her! All packed up and gone off to play happy families"

"But why would she go back to Bane?"

"Because she's a freak that's why! I knew she was acting differently as soon as I brought her home! Her and that other monster! In it together! I thought we believed in the same dream…and yet all you wanted" he said suddenly going into a whisper leaning down right beside my ear "was for you and your new boyfriend with the fucked up face to live happily ever after"

"Yea and did you notice your bed John!" I suddenly screamed in his face. "All broken up! Yea that's because I fucked Bane in our old bed! Think about it...Bane fucked me" I said emphasizing every word to hurt him more. "And he was amazing!"

"You…"

"Yes, should have seen us bucking! You could never measure up to him!"

"You sicken me!"

I looked at Bruce whose eyes were now as wide as saucers looking between us.

"And you know what…I was going to forgive you for what happened…"

"So wait…you and Bane?" said Bruce clearly trying to make sense of what was going on.

"No it's not like that…"

"Sounds that way to me!"

"Ok!" yelled Bruce standing up. "Blake, either stay quiet or get out. Jen…well I need you to tell me what you know"

"I don't know anything"

"Bullshit!"

"Ok Jen…remember when you saw me…my back was broken and I said I'd have to change tactics because it was like fighting a brick wall. Does he have any weaknesses? Anything I can use to my advantage?"

"I swear he didn't tell me anything Bruce! I would tell you" I said my eyes darting up to John.

"Blake, go wait in the kitchen" said Bruce suddenly.

He wiped his eyes, glared at me and then stormed off.

"Now whatever this is with you and Bane…I know it's just an act, I know you. You would never jeopardise your future for the sake of someone like him…and I know you'd tell me if you knew anything"

"I don't…"

"Jennifer…you know how dangerous he is and you know Gotham needs to be saved. If you know anything you need to tell me"

I looked at him and I felt my palms starting to sweat. I could tell him about the mask, if he broke the mask, he broke the man. But I loved Bane and handing him to Bruce Wayne on a plate was not something I wanted to do…then why was I even contemplating this. It was because I wasn't 100% sure about that like I wasn't 100% sure about my feelings for Bane. John may still forgive me for everything; the shreds of my old life could still be salvaged and built up again.

"Jennifer" he purred.

I looked straight into his eyes remembering the first time Bane said my name.

"The mask…" I felt my voice slip out.

"What about the mask?" he pressed.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Bruce sat closer making me feel even more uncomfortable and a bead of sweat rolled down my temple.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hello everyone! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and are full of food at this stage and I wish you all a happy new year! :D So we're reaching the end of this story :( but I hope you keep reading and reviewing and I'm glad you're all still enjoying it :) Also I have started a Lawless fanfic called Listen as the Nightingale Sings so if you guys wanna check that out :) Love all my amazing readers and reviewers, please keep it up :) xoxo**

**-Sailor**

"Jennifer" Bruce pressed.

"I don't know" I said finally breaking down. I couldn't stop myself from crying anymore. It was all just getting too much.

"Whatever he has told you, it's all lies you do know that right? He's brainwashed you"

"Bruce you don't get it"

"I do, he has told you his plan for Gotham, romanticising all the way but you don't see how he's doing it. People, good people are being murdered to achieve his new Gotham"

If only he knew…

"Good people…like my father?"

"Exactly, like your father" he said softly, clearly thinking he was getting through to me. Except I knew my father wasn't a good man, he was anything but…but he was still my father. And yet, I didn't feel as upset about my father's death as I was before.

"I watched my father die under Bane's hands…"

"See how he has already made your family suffer"

I left out the part where I had sentenced him to death.

"What about his mask?"

"It keeps the pain at bay, without it…his strength is less"

Bruce let out a sigh of relief and immediately stood up, a grin appearing on his face.

"Bruce, where am I supposed to go?"

"You can stay here, there's no problem there"

"I can't go home?" I whimpered.

He turned and looked at me dead in the eye.

"Home?"

"Yea…with John" I lied.

"From the looks of things between you two, there really isn't much of a home to go to"

"Well yea but…"

"No you'll stay here; I can keep an eye on you. Come on I'll show you your room"

He walked me through the cold, heartless mansion that reminded me of a museum. We walked up to the third floor and I was lead into a large, luxurious room with a huge four poster bed. But it wasn't the same as my little cell.

"Do you need anything?"

"No" I said sitting on the bed.

"Ok, get some rest. Don't worry, you'll be safe here" he smiled before closing the door.

I fake smiled and threw myself on the bed; I missed Bane more than ever now. And to make matters worse, I was disgusted with myself because of what I had told Bruce. I had totally betrayed Bane and it killed me.

* * *

After a few days at Wayne's mansion I was beginning to get cabin fever. The routine was the same every morning. We'd have breakfast, then he'd disappear into his bat cave or whatever it was and I'd have nothing to do for the rest of the day. I sat in my room one evening when I heard a knock on the door. Bruce appeared at the door and came to sit beside me on the bed.

"He has Gordon up in his court today, this is it…tonight. Gotham can't endure this"

"You're coming back…for good?"

"I have to" he sighed. It would appear he wasn't too happy about it.

"Am I gonna be left here, on my own?"

"Yea is that a problem?" he said creasing his eyebrow. Of course he doesn't understand.

I nodded and he leaned in and kissed my forehead, which gave me an unsettling feeling considering only a few years ago I would have died to be here. He smiled and walked out of the room leaving me alone once again. As night crept up on the mansion I watched from the window as a black car reversed from the driveway. I ran to the door, pulling at in frustration realising he had locked it. I spotted the window and pulled it up. I looked down but if I jumped it, I would kill myself. I had forgotten I was three flights up. But I had to get back to Bane; there were no two ways about it. I whipped the sheets off the bed and the extra ones that were in the wardrobe. I tied them together leading them out the window but they only went so far, so I'd have to jump. I crawled down, feeling my arms about to separate before I got to the end of the sheets. I took one breath before ignoring all my survival instincts and let go of the sheets. I fell to the ground landing hard in the bush below me, my ankle instantly striking me with a severe pain. I got up and fell again putting weight on my injured ankle. I hobbled out of the grounds of Wayne's mansion and onto the main street running towards the city.

* * *

After about an hour of running and walking, my ankle swollen and sore I managed to get into the city. I ran straight to city hall because I knew Bane's court would be finishing soon. When I got there, I saw people leaving but Bane was nowhere to be seen.

"Dr Crane!" I yelled seeing him walking out the back door. He turned around and looked shocked to see me.

"Where's Bane?" I panted ignoring the searing pain in my lower leg.

"He's up top"

I ran towards the stairs and up them to the roof, my ankle exploding with pain. I threw open the door and saw Bane standing there, in his huge coat with his hands tucked under his vest as always and surrounded by his goons.

"Bane!" I cried as his eyes met mine.

I panted trying to get as much air into my lungs as possible. I hobbled over but my ankle gave way and I fell to the ground. I heard his goons cock their guns and I could feel them being pointed at me.

"What are you doing back?" I heard him snarl.

I dragged myself along the ground, my ankle now completely worthless, towards Bane. I grabbed his boot and held onto it for dear life.

"Bane I'm sorry!"

He said nothing and didn't move, all I could hear was his laboured breathing.

"Impossible…" I suddenly heard him remark. I looked up but he wasn't looking at me, he was out looking over Gotham. I followed his stare and saw a huge flaming bat symbol burning high above one of the bridges.

"Keep her close, he'll come for her" he said to one of his men.

"No, Bane he won't!"

He looked down at me still clutching to his leg but he merely just shook his head.

"I wasn't talking about you little one" he whispered looking back over to the flaming bat.

I pulled myself closer to his leg, not wanting to let him go, but who was he talking about then? I heard his men moving and their footsteps fade down the stairs and it was just Bane and I. I cried silently to myself as I clutched his leg, partly because of my ankle but more so because I didn't feel that closeness that I knew Bane felt for me as strong as I used to. I suddenly felt his huge hands under my arms pulling me up but I cried in pain as he put weight on my ankle. He looked at me slightly shocked.

"What happened, little one?"

"It's my ankle" I winced.

He sat me down on the ground as he sat beside me.

"You ran away again" he sighed rubbing his eyes as if he was just tired of everything.

"I didn't!"

"If you want to leave so bad little one, just go. I'm not going to stop you" he snarled.

"I don't want to go! I ran all the way from Wayne manor after I jumped from the window, injuring my ankle in the process just to get back to you!"

"Why were you at Wayne manor?" he said his eyebrows knitting together as if he was linking something up.

"I was brought there, I didn't willingly go"

"Who brought you there?"

Before I got a chance to answer he grabbed my leg bringing my ankle up and resting it on his knee. His fingers ran over it gently, hurting it slightly.

"John…" I said quietly.

He suddenly grabbed my ankle squeezing it tight causing me to cry out in pain. He leaned over and stared into my eyes.

"What are you doing to me?" he growled gripping my swollen ankle harder.

"Bane…I'm sorry! I didn't say anything!"

For someone who lies a lot, I have never felt anything after lying to someone's face but after I said that something inside me hurt.

"Why do you keep leaving me? Who are you talking to?"

"No one!"

"Well I think it's funny…that just as you show up, Batman seems to have returned and you were at Wayne manor…"

Listening to him say that like that, I will admit it did sound very dodgy.

"Bane you have to trust me"

His grip loosened on my ankle and he looked into my eyes. They watered slightly and his grip loosened fully.

"Why?"

"Because you have to know, I would never do anything to jeopardise you or us!"

"You keep running I can't believe that someone keeps taking you"

"Well, then come with me everywhere I go, make sure I'm not!" I said grabbing a fist full of his jacket holding pulling his face inches away from mine. "Like you said before…your future should take priority…I don't ever want to be away from your side"

He searched in between my cold blue eyes and I saw his hand clench before he took a deep breath.

"I know it sounds like suspicious but John found me in the van and dragged me to Bruce Wayne! I wanted to come here to warn you but I was too late"

His hand reached out and rubbed the side of my head. I leaned into his hand and held onto it. Then I saw his other hand reach over and he pulled me on top of him hugging me tight to his chest.

"I've missed you little one" he whispered in my ear.

I grabbed him tighter not wanting to let go but I knew it didn't matter how close I held him, I had betrayed his trust and we would never be that close again.

"Come little one…we need to get you somewhere safe" he said standing up. He reached down and lifted me up carrying me down the stairs.

"Bane?"

"Yes, little one?" he asked as he stomped down the metal stairs.

"I'm sorry I didn't show up at court. I tried to get away from John but he was there when your men were taking Gordon. He was hidden in a fire escape and took me"

"Don't worry I am going to have him taken care of" he mumbled.

I didn't protest.

When we got down the stairs and into the main body of city hall, Bane opened a door with a key only he had clearly. A mattress lay in the centre of the marble floor along with a blanket and a pillow, clearly this was Bane's new temporary home. He put me down on the bed and took my ankle, gently this time, and rotated it. I felt the fluid that had been gathering in my ankle move around.

"We need to fix your ankle"

"I missed you Bane" I sighed as I rested my head on the pillow.

"How did you manage to do this to yourself" he said lightly pressing it.

"I would have cut off my own leg if it meant I was going to get back to you"

"Well you're here now…and the plan is almost complete"

"How are we gonna survive?"

"Oh I have a plan to get us out before anything happens, don't you worry about that"

"Oh ok…so it's almost done? So it won't be long before it's just you and I?"

"Yes little one" he said taking a piece of cloth from his pocket and wrapping it tight around my ankle "Soon it'll just be you and I, forever"

He grabbed a first aid kit and injected something into the back of my feel before he sat down on the ground and put my ankle up on his shoulder. "We need to keep this elevated so the fluid won't gather"

I yawned and I gotta say my ankle felt immediately better.

"Are you tired?"

"Sort of, I think it's just a build-up of stress to be honest"

"Huh…you know little one, I have an injection in this first aid kit…"

I looked up at him and laughed. I laughed, I actually laughed for the first time in I don't even know how long. I saw Bane's forehead crease and his cheeks were higher. I knew he was smiling under that mask too.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey guys, ok now I just want to explain this chapter a bit before you read. As you may be aware this story is close to ending and I for one am super sad about it. So I decided to do this. I know it's short, it wasn't meant to be long. This is set the night before the raid on city hall and the battle for Gotham's soul. It continues on from the last chapter but I wanted to give it it's own chapter instead of tacking it onto the next chapter. Basically, I wanted to talk about Bane and Jen's relationship a bit on what could be their last night in Gotham. So here we go, I hope you like it, please leave a review if you're so inclined, see you later! :) xoxo**

**-Sailor**

Bane lay beside me running his fingers through my hair, the tips of his fingers gently massaging my scalp. His robotic breath hummed through his mask. I started to shiver slightly and Bane whipped off his coat throwing it over me. It was such a comfort having it and his arm wrapped around me.

"Do you actually have that shot?" I whispered.

"Yes but you're injured and tired"

"Well…"

"No I don't want to risk hurting your ankle more…but we could just kiss?"

"Yea" I smiled.

His sleepy eyes looked at mine and he rolled over grabbing the first aid box and taking out a sparkling new syringe. He held out his arm out straight with the soft inner part facing me.

"Inject me here"

I pierced his soft flesh feeling the needle sink into his arm. I pushed the top and watched the fluid drain into him. He reached around and unclipped his mask from his head. He put it to the other side of him and turned back to me. I reached up and touched his nose and lips watching his eyes react to my touch. His mouth opened wide as he exhaled a huge breath. I looked at his bottom set of teeth, some overlapped on each other but they suited his smile. I leaned over and let my lips brush off his, his soft plump ones reaching up latching onto mine. His tongue darted into my mouth grazing my teeth and I got a twitch in my stomach. My tongue met his and I closed my lips a bit on his locking us together. My hand rested on his chest feeling his heart start to beat rapidly and his hand clutched mine.

"How long will this last?" I whispered breaking for a breath.

But Bane didn't answer my question, instead I saw something ignite in his eyes and he pushed himself up on his arm and rolled on top of me. But he didn't do what I thought he was going to do. Instead he settled himself, but still holding his weight off me and leaned down so his nose was bumping off mine. His hands pushed against the floor on either side of my head making me feel like there was no world outside his arms, everything else was just blocked from view, and nothing else mattered right now. I was safe and secure.

"Try and not move your ankle…it's healing" he said before his lips met mine once again…softly, lovingly. As he inhaled above my lips I felt like he was breathing in my soul along with my love. His kisses were so unpredictable, unlike every other man I have ever been with. They went from hard to soft, they were fiery but cool, it was only for a split second but felt like forever. The hands of time stopped as our lips moved together as one. His lips were so soft and urgent on mine, trying to express all that he felt for me which he couldn't put into words. I could feel the intoxicating bubbles in his breath filling my lungs.

"Little one, you love me don't you?" he asked as he broke away for a breath, but our noses still touching.

"You know I do"

"I want you to say it; I need you to say it to me"

"I love you. You are everything to me"

"No…just say that, nothing else"

I held his face in my hand and brought his face as close as possible to mine.

"I love you Bane"

There was a moment of silence as he searched my eyes for any hint of doubt, but he found none. That's because for once, there was no shred of doubt whatsoever. I knew I believed what I had just said, 100%.

He smiled and his lips kissed mine giving me a tingling sensation all over. For a man of his size, his lips were amazingly gentle and tender. I was determined to grasp this memory, everything I was feeling right now, and I felt like I was his forever. He broke away from me and his eyes looked at mine and I could see he saw me as his, finally. They were clear and had vision, vision for the future, our future. My hands travelled over his massive shoulders trying to remember everything about him at this point in time.

"I'm starting to get a pain" he whispered with a hint of sadness. I hid my disappointment.

"You should put your mask back on"

"But…this moment…"

I put my fingers over his lips stopping him. It felt good being able to touch his face; unfortunately I knew it couldn't last.

"We will have plenty more of these moments babe"

His eyes hit mine and I could see the pain was remerging in his system.

"I like it when you call me that" he smiled, his bottom lip shaking, probably with the pain but I couldn't be sure.

He picked up his mask and held it to his mouth, inhaling deeply. I rested my head back on the pillow while he fixed his mask. When he was done, he lay beside me, his body sitting into the curves of mine. I urged myself to stay awake to watch him. I didn't want to sleep and for this to end. His eyes eventually closed over and his whole face relaxed. I reached over and kissed his forehead.

"Night babe, I love you" I whispered.

I saw his cheek bones rise a bit before I closed my eyes and fell asleep alongside him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello everyone! Welcome all my new readers and old ones :) Thank you all so much for your support not only reading but also reviewing through this whole story but sadly we are at the end :( I know, I'm upset too, so much so I spent the last few hours reading over it not wanting to publish it because it will really mean the end :( But here we go I hope you all like it and sure let me know, throw a review there. I love reading your reviews :) Enjoy people xoxo**

**-Sailor**

Bane shook me awake the next morning just as the sun was rising.

"Little one, this is it" he whispered before going over to the window and looking out over the city.

"Bane, are you going to be ok today?"

He turned around and looked straight at me.

"I will be fine, little one"

I reached up and felt my head, the cut was scabbing nicely and didn't hurt as much, but my ankle was still killing me.

"What do you want me to do today?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well do you need me for anything?"

"No, I will keep you hidden; it'll be too dangerous out there for you and then when it is done, I will come get you and we will leave"

I smiled to myself hearing Bane speak like that, today couldn't end quickly enough.

He came over and rotated my ankle a bit more. "It's healing nicely, but I want you to keep still for most of the day, try and avoid moving"

"Ok, I won't move so you don't have to worry about me" I smiled.

His eyes looked up at mine and he nodded slowly.

"I have to go organise everything, are you ok here?"

"I'll be fine; I'm just looking forward to it all being over"

"Me too"

He got up and unlocked the door, stepping out.

"It is of vital importance, little one…" he said looking at me "Don't ever leave this room, I'm going to lock it but I'm sliding the key back under the door to you just in case I need to get back in but besides that don't let anyone in"

"No problem" I smiled before he walked out, locked the door and slid the key back under the door which I grabbed shoving it in my pocket.

* * *

For the next few hours I sat alone in the room but I actually felt ok knowing he was coming back. I moved myself over to the window and saw Bane's men all lined up just outside the steps of city hall. All the prisoners from Blackgate still in their jumpsuits and everyone else, looking pumped. Bane emerged down the steps; his arms open clearly shouting orders at everyone. I smiled watching his movements, ordering people around. I didn't know what we were going to do, where we were going to live, how we would get by with him as a wanted criminal responsible for blowing up one of the biggest cities in the country but I didn't care. Bane walked back up the stairs and disappeared inside. They all stood around glancing at each other, clearly waiting for some signal, then I saw everyone looking down the opposite end of the street. I stared out and saw what looked like the entire Gotham police force marching towards Bane's army. Obviously John had succeeded in getting them out. Panic rose inside me but it was ok I didn't see Bane so hopefully he was still inside away from the trouble. They suddenly all started running towards each other and the war had clearly started. I heard a loud thunderous mummer coming from above me. I looked up and saw what can only be described as a flying tank. I knew immediately who it was. He fired into Bane's army before disappearing once more. I saw Bane run down the steps in his jacket, the veins in his neck jutting out with anger so far that even I could see them. He threw punches into some guards before whipping off his jacket. I glued myself to the window watching him pound the daylights out of some cops before I saw the Batman emerge from the smoke. I saw Bane's shoulders move up and down as if he was laughing seeing him back again wanting to die with his city, like the fool he is.

Bane threw a massive punch at Batman which he blocked but Bane met him with another vicious blow. I had visions of this being like in the sewers and Batman was going to get his back broken again. I got flashbacks of talking to Bruce and mentioning about the mask, hopefully he would have forgotten it by now…besides it looked like Bane still had the upper hand here. He continued to lay into Batman, kicking him up the steps towards the building. I strained my neck and could just make them out. Bane grabbed Batman's fist mid punch and pushed it back towards him. For a second there it looked like their strength was equal but then Bane pushed him back and a small smile grew on my face. But then I saw Batman's fist go straight for the mask and I got a lump in my throat. He remembered and he was using it. But luckily it didn't seem to bother Bane, he just retaliated. They disappeared out of sight for a few seconds before bundling back into view. Batman threw a few more punches to his face but it didn't seem to bother him. That mask was tougher than I thought, maybe Batman would realise it wasn't worth it and try something else. But then I watched in horror as the side of his fist caught on one of the pipes of Bane's mask and he stumbled back slightly, his hands reaching up to his mask. I leaned over to the window more and my face grew hot with panic. But then Bane summed up some energy and pushed him into a pillar before fiddling with his mask. I pushed myself up using the wall gazing down.

I glanced at the door and felt the key in my pocket. No, I couldn't go down, he told me to stay here and besides he seemed to have things in order…Bane punched him harder under the pillars and out of my view. I pushed myself so hard against the glass trying to see that I thought it may have buckled under me. They didn't come back into view but I suddenly heard a huge crash which immediately sent a wave of fear over me. But it couldn't be Bane…there's no way Batman got the upper hand that quick.

I bundled in my pockets for the key and hobbled to the door, my ankle bursting with pain. I shakily put it in the door and twisted the handle. I stepped out but fell catching myself on the bars of the staircase. I peered between the bars and looked down. Everything was quiet for a few minutes and I figured Bane had taken back control. But then I heard the unmistakable rasp of a bat and it wasn't a rasp of pain.

"Where's the trigger?!" I heard him shout and Bane suddenly tumbled into view. He held him up against a white block in the centre of the floor. I shuffled in my spot seeing him like this. I could hear the gas escaping from his mask and choked, croaking groans coming from his mouth.

"I know you wouldn't give it to an ordinary citizen…where's the trigger?!" he shouted before punching his mask again, breaking more of the pipes causing more gas to escape. I could only imagine the pain that he was going through.

I used the bars to drag myself up and started down the stairs. But just as I got down the second step, I felt my ankle collapse from under me and Bane's eyes look up at me and his head nod from side to side a bit. I knew what that meant, _"No movement little one"_ so I obediently sat back down and watched as the Batman tore into him. What was I going to do? Go down and collapse on the ground? I was going to be less than useless, I couldn't stop Batman now.

"Where's the trigger?! Where is it?! Where is it?!"

Bane fell to the side in a heap like I've seen him do so many times before except, this time I was powerless to help him. I listened as a moan escaped through his mask which killed me. I slid down to the next step, a tear falling from my eye.

"Tell me where the trigger is! Then…you have my permission to die" he growled, holding him against the white block. Bane looked so helpless which was killing me.

"I broke you…how did you escape?"

"You thought you were the only one who could learn the strength to escape…now where's the trigger?"

"But I never escaped…" whispered Bane.

"But the child of Ra's Al Ghul…that made the climb"

Bane stared at him through watery eyes and I saw Talia tip toe in silently from the doors and kneel beside him.

"But he's not the child of Ra's Al Ghul…I am" she whispered sticking a knife in Bruce's side.

For the first moment since I got here I was glad to see Talia. Since I couldn't take care of Bane with my broken ankle at least she could. She'd fix his mask and stop the pain and he'll be fine, thank God she was here.

Bruce turned, his whole body starting to shake with the pain as he looked at her, his breath now shaky and panicked.

"And although I am not ordinary…I am a citizen" she said holding up what I'm assuming was the trigger. I looked at Bane who was still sitting there struggling to breathe in the precious, life giving venom.

Batman choked breath was in the background but my attention was fully on Bane. I slid down another step, another wave of pain passing through my leg. I squeezed my eyes shut trying not to make a sound.

"Miranda…why?" he croaked.

"Talia…my mother named me Talia before she was killed. The way I would have been killed if not for my protector…Bane"

My ears shot up and I peered down at her as she looked into Bane's eyes. But her stare was met with a cold non responsive one from Bane. I knew he didn't feel the same way about her. She reached over and screwed the pipes back in the mask and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I climbed out of the pit…and found my father. And brought him back to seek terrible vengeance…but by that time, the prisoners and doctors had done their work to my friend…my protector"

As I listened I realised how much history the two of them had.

"The league took us in…trained us…but my father could not accept Bane. He saw only a monster…"

I looked at Bane's half closed eyes as she fixed his mask, a twinge of pain crossing them as she uttered the word monster.

"Whose very existence only reminded him of the hell he left his wife to die in. He excommunicated him from the league of shadows. His only crime…was that he loved me"

I slid down another few steps while I listened to her and it hit me when she said that last line. She knew the power she held over Bane and she took advantage of that to fulfil her father's wishes. My ankle pulsed with pain and I had to stop. Bane looked up at her and I could tell the love he once held for her was burning out and only a few embers remained.

"But could not forgive my father…until you murdered him" she sneered turning to Bruce.

Bane's eyes glanced in my direction and he took a deep breath and he picked himself off the ground walking in my direction. I slid down another step but he held up his hand motioning me to stop and held a finger over his mask indicating me to stay silent. He picked up a rope and headed back over to Bruce and Talia.

"He…he was trying…to kill…millions of innocent people" Bruce gasped.

"Innocent is a strong word to throw around Gotham, Bruce" she simply sighed. "I honour my father by finishing his work" she said as Bane wrapped a rope around Bruce.

"Vengeance against the man who killed him is simply a reward for my patience…you see it's the slow knife…" she whispered as she twisted the knife in his side. "The knife that takes it's time…the knife that spends years waiting…that slips quietly between the bones…that's the knife that cuts deepest"

I now understand what Bane meant; Talia was totally consumed by this. It seemed that this was just her life's mission and Bane was just a pawn.

She clicked the button and I think we all held our breath; well I did if no one else did. But nothing happened and I heard her inhale deeply.

"You've blocked the generator…"

"Something's wrong! There's interference on the generator!" shouted one of the guys from outside.

"Gordon…no matter, you've spared Gordon eleven minutes" she sneered pulling the knife from his ribs. He hunched over in pain and I hate to admit it, I did ache for Bruce, he didn't deserve this.

"Don't kill him" spoke Talia as she got up to leave. "I want him to feel the fire…the heat of all those people you've failed"

Bane tied the rope further around Bruce and stood back straight, his eyes closing. He was still in pain so I slid down the last few steps until I got to the end of the staircase.

"Goodbye my friend" she whispered, her hand on his mask before she turned to leave.

"Talia!" I called out just as she was leaving. "You can't leave…what about Bane?! He's hurt!"

Her lip twitched and her stare burned into mine.

"This is what we agreed was going to happen…the fire will rise" she said simply before she walked out followed by her minions.

I can't believe she was so heartless and cold that she could just waltz out, leaving the man who had given her everything, here to die all to satisfy her twisted revenge. She truly was evil.

"Jennifer! Help!" called Bruce in agony.

"I'm sorry Bruce…I can't" I said never taking my eyes off Bane. "My loyalties lie elsewhere"

Bane looked up at me as I tried to crawl over to him.

"Little one, stay where you are and cover your eyes"

I sat back where I was and watched.

"We both know that I have to kill you now" spoke Bane before landing a vicious kick to Batman's torso causing him to fall to the ground.

This was it, he was going to finish off the Batman and we would leave together, everything was falling into place. Talia was gone so now it was just Bane and I against the world. He glanced over at me while grabbing something off the ground.

"You'll just have to imagine the fire!" he jeered, pointing a sawn-off shotgun under his chin.

I closed my eyes like Bane commanded and just as I was expecting to hear the sound of Batman's brains being blown across the floor, I heard something else which made my eyes shoot open. I just saw Bane being flung across the room and knocked against the back wall. I felt all the breath in my lungs being physically dragged out of me as I saw his limp body lying lifeless against the wall. A woman in a black jumpsuit on a black motorcycle was sitting at the entrance clearly after firing from it into Bane. She waltzed in and untied Bruce before walking back out.

"Bruce!" I called not really sure what to do or why I was calling him.

"Sorry Jennifer, I appreciate the information you gave me about Bane's mask…but at the end of the day my loyalties lie with the people of Gotham" he growled before walking out leaving me there.

My whole body went numb but I smacked myself out of my panicked trance and scrambled over to Bane's body. I summed up all my strength and pulled him onto his back, his head resting on my lap. He was still breathing but his mask was now completely useless. A huge hole was blown in his vest with little metal shards cutting through his skin. I tried to hold back my tears; they weren't going to help anyone right now. I rubbed his head and saw his eyes flicker open slightly.

"Bane…its ok I'm here. We've got less than ten minutes anyway…but I'm glad I'm here to spend them with you" I said resting my lips on his cheek.

"I had planned for us to leave…"

"I know, but its ok" I smiled.

I glanced at my watch and there were only minutes left.

"How's the pain?"

"Unbearable, I can taste some venom…but not enough"

"It's ok, it won't be long now" I whispered rubbing his head.

"Batman…Batman knew about my mask little one…"

"Bane" I cried leaning down, my face leaning against his. "I'm sorry"

"You told me you…you wouldn't do anything to jeopardise us…"

"I know"

"You lied"

"I didn't…I'm sorry"

"If you didn't…you wouldn't have to apologise" he choked out.

I clenched my eyes, his words cutting through me like a hot knife through butter.

I looked at my watch counting down the seconds, waiting on the fire to engulf us…except it didn't. I opened my eyes looking around but nothing had happened. But then I heard a low rumbling explosion out beyond where we were. It didn't sound like it happened anywhere near the city.

"Bane!" I said shaking him. His eyes flickered open a bit, a tear rolling down his face.

"Something's happened…"

I whipped off my jacket and placed it under his head as I ran to the gaping hole in the middle of the building. I saw a huge cloud coming over the city coming from the same direction as Gotham Bay. We were still here; obviously Batman had saved the city. I couldn't stop the little smile that appeared on my face, I was still alive and still here. I raced back inside and went back to Bane.

"Bane!" I yelled shaking him again.

His eyes opened slightly and I heard something come from his broken mask. I leaned down again urging him to say it again.

"Bane I love you" I said feeling a tear roll down my nose onto his face.

"I love you too…but you betrayed me" he whispered.

I leaned back a bit and watched his brown eyes stare back at mine.

"I still love you" I whispered.

He nodded his head a bit as I watched his eyes slowly blink. I wasn't sure if he was agreeing with me or if he was gesturing that he felt the same as well. I felt sick in the pit of my stomach as my choked out tears escaped my eyes. Then his eyes closed over fully and the hall was filled with my choked out screams and cries.

* * *

I had gotten word of what had actually happened while I was in city hall with Bane. Bruce had taken that flying tank that he called 'the bat' and flew the bomb out over Gotham Bay, sacrificing himself to save Gotham. It hit me hard when I found out he was dead, gone forever and no one would ever know or appreciate what he did for this city. A monument was erected to him in the newly built city hall…that was it, a monument erected by most of the people in this city who taught he was a menace.

I had heard the funeral of Bruce Wayne was to take place at Wayne manor; he was to be buried with his parents. I suppose I had less reason to be there than anyone and I knew John taught that. But nonetheless I arrived. I was expecting a huge turnout considering how high profile he was but it turned out it was me, John, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. Gordon read out a small poem while John stood on the opposite side of the grave to me. I could feel him staring at me but I avoided eye contact with him. After, I headed back to my car and heard Gordon talking to John. What I heard was that John had quit the force and had no intention of returning. I shook my head, his life was taking a step backwards instead of forward like we had intended. He was probably going to go back to working in the bar, a dead end job he always wanted to get away from, which he tried with me.

"Jennifer" I heard him call just as I opened the door.

I turned back around and looked at him for the first time since I had arrived here.

"Hi John"

There was a brief silence and I wondered why he had bothered to stop me.

"So you're quitting the force?"

"Yea…I realised doing things by the book doesn't get justice done most of the time"

"So what are you going to do with your life?"

"I haven't decided yet. City's gonna need some cleaning up after what your boyfriend did" he snarled.

I nodded looking down at the ground. I knew it was only a matter of time before he brought him up.

"Well good luck with that" I said going to step into my car.

"What are you gonna do now?" he chirped before I got a chance to sit in.

"I don't know…" I sighed shrugging my shoulders.

"I suppose going back to your old job is not an option?"

"Probably not…with all that stuff coming out about Harvey Dent"

"Yea…that'd be the problem"

There was an awkward silence where the wind was the only thing that could be heard.

"Well it was nice talking to you John…I'm glad we can mature and be civilised to each other"

"Well anger gives you great power…but it can destroy you"

"That's true, and you're too good a guy to let that happen and someday some girl will love you for that and appreciate everything you do"

"Yea…remember when we used to plan our future and we imagined having kids…I would have always liked to have a big back garden like this" he said looking out over Wayne's garden. "A place where they could run around and play"

"Yea…" I said feeling slightly uncomfortable listening to him talk about us like that. That was the old us, we weren't there anymore, well at least I thought we weren't. "I remember you always wanted a garden because you didn't want them to live in the concrete jungle you grew up in"

"Yea that's right" he said laughing to himself.

Then we were silent again.

"I hope you're alright now…now you're on your own again"

"Yea it's hard…but thanks for your concern"

"Well I'll let you go" he said walking over to his car. "I gotta go collect something anyway; apparently Bruce Wayne left me something in his estate"

"Oh very good, yea I heard the boy's home is getting funded again, that's nice to see. It's also nice that he's donated his home for the older boys" I smiled.

"He didn't fully destroy your kind spirit then" said John quietly.

"You must be pleased about it…" I said skipping over his comment.

"I am it's nice to know they'll have somewhere to go when they get to a certain age. Well I suppose I'll talk to you soon"

"Bye John" I smiled.

"Bye Jen"

I sat in my car and watched as he drove out before me. That conversation gave me an unsettling feeling in my gut but I shook my head and started the engine heading towards my home.

* * *

I pulled into the underground garage and parked my car. I pulled my shopping bag out of the boot and stretched my neck from side to side as I headed for the elevator. The stress of everything lately had been building up causing tension in my neck and back.

I pushed my door open throwing my keys on the table, checking my messages on my machine…nothing of any great importance. There was something more important on my mind right now. I walked into my bedroom, the air was musty so I pulled back the curtain and opened the window. Fresh air was needed right now.

"Did you get the rest?" he croaked pulling down plastic mask that was attached to his face. "The gas is running low"

"I know I have another supply I retrieved and I have people working on more venom for when this supply eventually runs outs. But just in case it's not ready, I got your shots" I smiled kneeling down beside him.

He was alive but barely. After the bomb didn't blow us to pieces, I dragged his body into a van and back to my old apartment. I set up an IV with what was left of his shots that I found in city hall until he could tell me where to find more. I thought he was gone completely but Bane, my Bane was tough. I had people working on fixing his mask while he recovered. It was the venom, or lack thereof, that nearly killed him. The vest had taken most of the impact but some shards that I had to remove, which was not a nice job to have to do. He tried not to move, but the agony got too much for him which upset me more than it did him. But when I got the venom, I set up a makeshift mask for him and once I got a steady amount of venom pulsing through his body he backed away inch by inch from death. As he lay in the bed, he looked a shadow of his former self. He was weak right now, but I knew he was growing stronger by the day and this was my new job, making Bane great again.

"Little one…" he said taking down his mask.

"Yes Bane?"

"I will rise again"

"I know" I smiled rubbing his head. "But for now, rest"

I heard a low chuckle come from his chest. "How the tables have turned" he coughed before he stuck his mask back on inhaling deeply.

I smiled, rubbing his head and watched him inhale the venom. His hand clenched over mine and I knew he was growing stronger. His eyes closed over and I heard the little bed creak under his weight.

"I know you'll grow stronger and I promise I will never betray you again"

His hand clenched mine tighter and I saw his eye twitch slightly.

"You could have let me die…but you didn't. That is the ultimate repayment little one"

"I'm not done repaying you, not yet" I whispered kissing his hand.

His whole brow relaxed as he inhaled deeper and his eyes closed over and his breathing slowed down. I kissed his head and pulled over the curtains once again, covering the room in darkness. I knelt down beside him rubbing his chest watching the silhouette of his body move up and down in the darkness. Bane would grow strong eventually and it will be us against the world once more, but for now I was just happy for him to heal and rest here with me.


End file.
